<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Art of Tradgedy by Fireteam_Russian_Roulette</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29964054">The Art of Tradgedy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette/pseuds/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette'>Fireteam_Russian_Roulette</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fireteam Misfortune [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Destiny (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fireteam Misfortune/Echo-Inspiration, Gen, Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:20:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,542</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29964054</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette/pseuds/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Anya has many problems and Marie has a mission to help her, Perhaps another brain can help her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anya/Marie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fireteam Misfortune [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113659</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. TBD</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Just a little idea i had and wanted to expand on, i do use characters that belong to my friend Echo</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p3"><span class="s2"> The day was quiet, they usually were even if Marie had some request from the vanguard to fill out. Today the warlock had finished her duties and since she had nothing much else to do, she had settled into bed beside Anya to have a nap. Sleep was important for the broken titan and it allowed Anya to remain somewhat active, the problem was that Marie had fallen into a habit of napping with her so most days were spent napping at random parts of the day. On this particular afternoon, she’d set up on Anya’s comfortable bed after playing some dominoes with the blinded titan. Both of them were passed out comfortably with Anya cuddling close, clinging to the warlock securely. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> They both flinched awake when a loud set of knocks broke the peace of the silence and Marie almost had a heart attack. She took a moment to breath and pet Anya gently to calm her before drowsily stumbling downstairs, warning Anya to stay upstairs like usual. Whoever was at the door kept knocking, almost sounding worried and Marie straightened out her clothes, half presenting herself before opening the door. The light was very bright considering the apartment was more often than not lightly lit up, Marie found herself blinking away the light with a mumble of moody French. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> In her sleepy brain, it took a moment to recognise the fully armoured warlock in front of her but she eventually realised that it was Astra. The warlock wore travelling gear and stepped back with her hands held up with awkward guilt. “I’m sorry, I’m, did I wake you?” She greeted uncertainly. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie nodded and rubbed an eye before sighing, “yes, but I needed to get up anyway for dinner” she admitted, half mumbling. “come in” she greeted, opening the door for her. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra seemed a little uncertain but entered awkwardly, shifting to standing beside the door as Marie closed it behind her. She clutched her hands together uncomfortably looking shy, “oh, well. Uh, is tommorow still ok?” She asked carefully. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Once the door was locked, Marie looked up the stairs before Esperer appeared at her shoulder, darting upstairs. Marie then returned her gaze to Astra was visible confusion. “Tommorow?” She mumbled. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra looked even more uncomfortable, taking her helmet off with a deep blush, holding it to her chest. “Uhuh, you. Uh, we were going to... uh. My bunker” she replied awkwardly. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> It took a moment before Marie registered the plan and it hit her like a ton of bricks. The awoken women instantly blushed bright pink and nodded with embarrassment. “OH, yes. The bunker” she replied looking flustered. “Is that tomorrow?” She asked awkwardly, “I’d forgotten” she admitted with guilt. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra chuckled awkwardly with a nod, “yeah, but if you don’t- you know, want to go. That’s ok” she assured weakly, “I just thought I’d check. And tell you... stuff” she mumbled, looking to the side. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie shook her head quickly and waved a hand, “oh no, no, we can go” she assured. “I just lost track of time” she admitted, “we can absolutely go” she repeated confidently. The surprise, or more so, remembrance of tomorrow plans had shocked her awake and she now looked sufficiently more alert. “Were you still staying for dinner?” She asked. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra nodded shyly, “if that’s ok... I wouldn’t mind going over a few things” she admitted with a blush. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie sighed and put a hand on her chest, “of course, of course, during dinner perhaps” she offered as she started stepping towards the kitchen. “Tea?” She offered, “you can leave your belongings in my room” she added looking flustered. “I’ll clean it up too before bedtime” Marie added with embarrassment. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra gave a soft smile with a nod, “tea would be nice, and there’s no rush” she assured gently. “I’ll be right out” she replied, moving to follow Marie but turning at Anya’s spare room which had been adapted to become Marie’s bed room. It was more of a storage room though because she barely lived there. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie quite happily let Astra get settled as she continued moving to the kitchen. It was late afternoon despite having just woken up after a nap and she not only needed to think of something for dinner but consider getting Anya ready for a trip away. The plan had initially been created a month or so back but due to things popping up, it was pushed back until tommorow. Astra worked a lot more often than Marie who worked from home so it was sometimes hard to catch up with each other. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Despite the two starting out a bit rocky, Marie and Astra had become quite the friends as they shared their research sometimes. Marie was able to help with a lot of hive problems due to her own studies and occasionally Astra offered her own ideas, leading to helping Marie in turn. Among the research, they turned out to really enjoy each other’s company because they didn’t judge the other’s choice of research and the fascination that came with. It perhaps might have given astras fireteam some comfort now that their warlock could be watched over by someone else who was a little more motherly and collected, even if it was not by much. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> At the moment, they were working on permanently easing Anya’s mobility and they had followed a lead in the form of tattoos, there was of course a lot of experimentation they had to do first and that was what this planned trip was for. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie had warned Anya to stay upstairs until she knew who was knocking, now it was safe, Esperer had gone up to give her permission to come down if she wanted and hearing the awkward chatter, Anya was certainly curious. It had taken a moment for her to find her feet clumsily before she carefully felt her way out of the room. She carefully leaned on the wall as she directed herself down the hall, flinching occasionally as she shuffled along silently. Her ankle was a little stiff today so she took a little more care as she helped herself down stairs. Her quiet shuffles weren’t heard by the two warlocks in the house which wasn’t a surprise, it wasn’t odd for her to not speak a word for days at a time. it was easier not too speak but it led to little frights as the titan essentially stalked her way through the house innocently. Today it seemed Astra would be her victim as Anya followed the walls to the kitchen. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya could hear movement in the kitchen so she knew that’s where Marie would be, she wasn’t aware Astra was here though and she was surprised when the wall she was leaning on briefly opened. The first thing Astra saw as she opened the spare room’s door again was the surprised titan collapsing into her arms. It was easy to catch the tall but frail Anya luckily and Astra was able to stop her falling although she almost fell over herself in surprise. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> There was a brief moment of fear as Anya clutched Astra with confusion but she now recognised the warlocks light so after she had adjusted, she had the playful nerve to give astra a little smile with a flicker of cheek, nuzzling up to her chest happily. Astra was forced to sit on the bed since she still threatened to fall over while supporting the clumsy titan, Anya’s first thought often wasn’t to stand herself up again. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Uh, hello Anya” she greeted with an awkward smile, “are you ok?” Astra asked gently. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya seemed to consider her question before nodding, though it took a second to clumsily find her feet using the warlock as support. Anya pet the warlocks shoulder in greeting before looking around with vague confusion, she’d lost her way in the fuss. You could tell when the titan was thinking, it was sometimes a hard thing for her to do so she would look around with vague wide eyes, just standing absently. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra bit her lip before sighing, she couldn’t help but adore the somewhat dopey titan a little bit, it was like watching a toddler figure things out, but of course she was more intelligent than that. She’d taken the time to dress more comfortably since she wasn’t going out until tomorrow morning and that was probably fortunate. It was much more comfortable to fall on civilian cloth rather than armour of any sort. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra gave a soft smile as she took Anya’s hand, “are you looking for Marie?” She asked gently. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> The titan considered her next question before tilting her head thoughtfully. truthfully, she’d forgotten where she was going but she didn’t mind Astra so you could almost see her deciding if she wanted which warlock she wanted to stay with. She finally turned to look in her direction vaguely, nodding in reply, Marie sounded good as she shifted to hold astra’s hand in both of hers affectionately. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Once Astra was sure the titan was stable, it was only then that she stood carefully, “come with me then” she offered, gently beginning to lead Anya out of her temporary room. The titan didn’t fight the help although she had a noticeable limp that caught astra’s eye. It was easy to see that Anya was a little tender on one foot, almost stepping on an angle. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie had heard nothing of course and was in the process warming up some broth in one pot as she prepared a meal of chicken and salad wraps. She was surprised to turn around to see the two settling at the table and looked concerned, putting dinner aside for a moment. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Are you two ok?” Marie asked carefully as she approached the table. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra nodded as she helped Anya sit, kneeling down to inspect her foot carefully, she had her suspions about what was wrong but she wanted to check. “Of course” she replied a little absently with a blush, “I opened the door when Anya happened to be leaning on it” she explained. Anya’s feet were a little messy, there were some small cracks under her feet but the problem was clear. Her feet and ankles felt hard like chitin and you could almost hear it cracking as Anya tried to move it. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra couldn’t help but feel a little guilty that they hadn’t been able to help her yet but Anya didn’t seem hugely affected, she was just as content and vague as usual so that was ok at least. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie eyed the two with a frown, she’d seen the signs but she was annoyed at herself that Anya’s ankle was playing up again, she wished she could fix it. “Did she get hurt?” She asked with care. Marie wasn’t angry at Astra of course, she couldn’t know that Anya was around but she couldn’t help but worry a little. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra stood up with a sigh, her hands now a bit stained with black blood. “She didn’t seem to be, I caught her before she fell. I was surprised though” she admitted with a shy blush. “I forget how quiet she is” she added. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie nodded with a chuckle, “she gets the best of them” she admitted, lightening up thoughtfully now she knew Anya was ok. “I might massage her after dinner” she mused to herself. Anya looked vaguely towards Marie’s voice and offered a hand with a tilted head, her hair hanging messily over her shoulders as if she hadn’t looked after herself in weeks. Anya couldn’t help looking so beat up, particularly with her black tears that stained her cheeks but she was happy, even if she didn’t look it with her emotionless state. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie sighed and stepped over to offer her hand, kissing the back of her palm affectionately. “Good girl, you made it all the way down stairs again, I won’t be able to escape you soon” she teased lightly. Anya replied with a small smile, her cheeks darkening slightly as she blushed and looked down shyly. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra took the chance to sit down, observing with a smile, the two were adorable as ever. “I think it’s too late already” she admitted with amusement. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> “I think so too” Marie agreed with a proud sigh, “but I’m glad. She had a fall last week and hurt herself when she fell down a few steps” she admitted with guilt. “I had to stitch her up” she added as she gently slipped Anya’s sleeve up to her shoulder, revealing some carefully made scar material being held together by stitches. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra looked concerned at the sight, “what happened?” She asked as she almost moved to look at the wound herself, holding herself back as not to be too much. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie bit her lip and covered Anya’s arm to press a kiss against the titan’s cheek since she was so patient. “You stay here and maybe Astra will play dominoes with you while I cook dinner ok?” She offered gently to Anya. The titan gave another smile with a nod, liking the sound of a game. She looked around vaguely for Astra though with no luck. As Marie straightened up to wash her hands, she replied to Astra. “Well I think she almost dislocated her shoulder when she landed on the stairs but luckily she is surprisingly sturdy, as usual. Her skin cracked but I can fix that, I had to make sure she was strapped up for a few days just to make sure” she explained. “Uhh. Do you mind playing with her while I’m cooking? We can talk, but I don’t want her getting bored and burning herself again” she admitted awkwardly. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra sighed, eyeing the titan with thought, the frail looking titan was certainly much more sturdy than she looked but she wondered if she could give her a check up later anyway. She was keen to see if Anya had improved since her last visit. At Marie’s request, Astra nodded, “oh, of course” she replied before looking around, “where are they? Uh. Dominoes right?” She asked. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie nodded and paused to go get them before looking thoughtful. “Well, I’ve been trying to improve her memory, do you think you could go with her to see if she remembers were they are? They are on the coffee table” she suggested carefully. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra nodded, lighting up at the chance to test the titan’s mental capacity. “Of course” she replied, standing up to give Anya her hand gently. “Anya, do you want to play a game?” She asked carefully. The titan replied with a nod, shifting her spare hand to pat the table. “Good, do you know where the game is? Can you show me?” She asked gently. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie looked over with a smile, “we left your dominoes on the coffee table, you know where that is right?” She suggested gently. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya looked confused as she took a long minute to consider their words but she finally gave an uncertain nod and gazed vaguely at Astra before searching the table carefully. She seemed to take care in following the edges of the round table before shaking her head with a frown. She seemed to realise that this table was not the one she wanted and let Astra go as she clumsily helped herself to her feet with quiet determination. Astra quietly asked quirk to record the time it took Anya, carefully following the titan in case she fell. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> It was somewhat facinating watching her slowly feel her way to the nearest wall and take a moment to orient herself between the closest to things she could find. She used the table to seemingly determine which way she needed to go before blindly crossing over to another wall instead. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> It took a few minutes to feel her way back towards astras room, finding the open door and following the frame over to the other side. It was as if she was in a maze, and she was clearly focusing very hard on keeping the idea on her mind. Astra knew not to disturb her if she was thinking like this, Anya had the tendency to forget what she was doing if she was stopped or distracted. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> With astra’s silent protection, Anya found her way to the banister of the stairs and she took yet another long minute to figure out where she was, finally directing herself into the open. She walked uncertainly with her hands reaching forward, and while she was a little off, she was able to find the edges of one of the lounges sitting comfortably around the coffee table. The dominos sat innocently on the table waiting for Anya if she could find them. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Anya had almost made it around to the front of the lounge when she tripped over one of the table legs with surprise and Astra tried her best to catch her, managing at least to make the landing soft. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> The surprise of the fall seemed to stump Anya for a moment before she gazed vaguely up to Astra, patting her arms in a thank you sort of manner. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra smiled softly as she let the titan go with a light blush, “are you ok?”. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya looked unsure at the question, shifting to pat herself over unevenly, though she seemed to decide she was fine as she nodded and leaned into cuddle against Astra with a sigh. She’d clearly lost her focus and went to plan b, seek cuddles and affection if anyone who’d give it. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra sighed with amusement, “oh, you don’t want to play anymore?” she asked gently, trying to prompt her to remember what she was doing. “What about the games?” </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> The titan took a moment before nodding with a small smile, looking somewhat expecting as she pulled away. Astra made sure Anya sat up ok before pulling away, “you have to show me where your game it remember? Marie said it was on the coffee table. You remember where that is?” She prodded gently. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya took another long minute to move through her emotions, flickering through brief surprise that she had to do something before eventually landing back on light determination. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Show me where the game is” Astra pushed with quiet excitement, she was so close and doing so well. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> This time, she didn’t seem to take as long to orient herself feeling both the lounge and the table with confusion for a moment. Anya then focused on the table and simply crawled to face it instead of putting the effort into standing again. With careful hands, Anya finally found the rough leather bag leading to the few dominoes that had spilled out onto the table. Quirk finished recording the time and Astra cuddled Anya with proud excitement, “good girl. You are doing so well” she enthused. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Anya of course was surprised by how happy Astra was but accepted it, returning a small smile proudly. Always happy to accept praise and affection. With careful but clumsy hands, she picked up the dominoes, put them in the bag awkwardly. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> While Astra had originally not known what Anya was when they met in the awkward manner they did, it had been almost a year since the warlock had been allowed a uniquely close look at the broken titan and her hive like ways. While she didn’t have the luxury of living with her like Marie did, between the missions that Cendric forced on her among other things and her own studies. Astra had gotten to know the titan and her carer well enough and like Marie had promised in the beginning, Anya truly was harmless if treated correctly. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Anya was somewhat of a grenade almost, exploding if you threw it but in your hands, an inactive ball of light that had the potential of exploding but only if activated. In anyas particular case, fear and anger were the triggers that would make her explode. Any attack made towards anything that she considered hers risked an angry titan with the intense powers of a hive wizard with the vengeance and will of a titan. The only saving grace was the fact that she was defensive in nature, often using scare tactics to force her will unless forced to fight and this was likely the only thing that had really stopped her from stripping cendric of his light completely when they first met. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Fear was less controlled and Anya immediately moved to summon her darkness to protect herself, often focusing only on the thing that had scared her in the first place unless stopped. She didn’t hesitate to start attacking cendric when he had frightened her, also when they first met but Marie was able to stop her of course. It was easy for Marie at least to stop the titan’s fear which allowed a safety mechanism in the case anything happened. It was likely the only reason Anya hadn’t been killed yet. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> It had taken a few visits to catch up on everything Anya offered to begin with and the two warlocks collectively spent days at a time, fussing over the dark titan’s research and potential leads that a Marie was working on. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie, being completely focused on the titan’s health, she had not long finished her study on healing, or more to the point, the lack of or hindered healing ability that Anya had. While she never bled out since she was frozen in a state of life and death, the darkness both kept her alive but stopped her from healing. Her cuts would stay as cuts, separating almost like spaces between chitinous armour. The odd design had the purpose of spreading the gross hive filth that made up the dens in which hive lived. It was the clearly defined the purpose of Anya’s continued existence however it didn’t have to be her only purpose. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie after all didn’t accept this fate, choosing to either free Anya or fix her, later making her choice to become her carer instead. With the added help and interest from Astra as well, they were determined to use Anya for good, most importantly, allowing her to live out the rest of her life in peace. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya got distracted as she finished putting the dominoes away, taking the last few to play with them in her hands. She clearly liked the feel of them as she ran her fingers over the textured hand made dominoes. She seemed to like one side that looked like vex construction in particular, tracing the rough pattern with curiosity. Astra shifted to sit on the other side, curiously picking up a few herself, she’d never seen dominoes like this, let alone really knew how to play properly. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra looked around thoughtfully as she took a moment to remember the name of Anya’s ghost, “uhh, sparks?” She asked the air awkwardly. She flinched as the ghost instantly appeared at the titan’s shoulders and floated over to her cheerfully. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> “Yes Astra?” Iskra greeted happily, “it’s good to see you again by the way” she added. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra blushed a little and nodded in greeting, “oh, yes, you too” she replied a little shyly, “hi, uh, I was just wondering where you bought these?” She asked curiously. “These feel like real materials” she added, her gaze moving back to a domino of half bronze plate and half leather like cloth wrapped something. It was held there by some form of cement like glue but it was clearly fallen in nature. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Iskra looked at the dominos thoughtfully, “oh, we didn’t buy them, a friend of ours made them for us. Your ghost can tell you, they are made of real materials from the world, all scavenged by said friend” she explained. “It was quite the gift, Anya adores them, though I’m not sure she recognises what they are” Iskra added playfully. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra couldn’t help but feel a little surprised, almost jealous. this sort of stuff while totally harmless, most of it was not allowed in the tower. “This friend, have I met her?” She asked curiously, considering about possibly making her own. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Iskra shook her head, “likely not, she takes being a shadow quite seriously. You may have seen or heard of her but she doesn’t, uh. Well, she doesn’t like people” she admitted awkwardly. “I would not be surprised if you never meet her, she’s a hunter though so that’s why the dominos are so, well traveled” the ghost added. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra bit her lip with a thoughtful nod, it certainly did explain why there was such a large range of different materials making up the game. She didn’t recognise the type of hunter this friend was, her own hunter was, well, very different. Good at what he did, generally, but definitely more friendly by the sounds. “Huh, well she sounds... nice. I suppose” she replied before blushing, “I mean, anyway. So how do I play?” She asked awkwardly, changing topic. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Iskra lit up and smiled, “oh, easy. Just match the sides. You pick one to put in the middle and then you match your dominoes to the pieces on the board. You play until you run out of pieces. Naturally Anya can make a mess but it’s good for her mind to practice thinking and memory” she explained. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya sighed to herself, totally ignoring the conversation as she shifted to lean on the table lazily. Resting her hands on the table, she </span>  <span class="s2"> continued playing with a few pieces, turning them in her fingers as she spaced out. Despite her appearance of relaxation, her gaze was still wide and of course, she never blinked, as if she’d miss something or open herself to danger if she did. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra’s attention was briefly stolen by Anya as she observed just how ‘relaxed’ the titan was. It was somewhat rare to see Anya by herself and it was more common for her to be holding her ghost or clinging to Marie, often sitting close either if comfortable enough. “She seems to be doing well” Astra observed thoughtfully. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Iskra shifted her gaze to look at Anya with affection. “She is, it’s been a while since she had a proper fright so she feels very secure lately. Eva visited with cookies too so that seems to help her mood too” she chuckled gently. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra gave a soft smile, “aren’t cookies too hard?” She questioned curiously. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Well, yes, but no” Iskra replied, “Marie mixes them with ice cream or dips them in tea, sometimes coffee if she is lucky”. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Coffee? Is that good for her?” Astra questioned curiously. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Iskra chuckled as she shifted her shell a little awkwardly, “well, not in big doses, but she absolutely loves coffee, she always has done. so, as long as it’s only a little bit, it’s a treat for her” she mused. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra looked to Anya with amusement, she could only imagine how she reacted to coffee considering her body ‘modifications’. “You know I think you spoil her” she smiled. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Iskra just rolled her eye innocently before giving her a coy smile before being distracted by Anya who looked bored and sighed before shaking her wrist. A bracket made of tied cloth was wrapped around her wrist with what looked almost like vex beads hanging from the cloth. It jingled quietly and it evidently meant Anya wanted attention as Iskra didn’t hesitate to float over and nudge her cheek, “dinner is soon and Marie will probably let you cuddle while she and Astra talk, you just gotta be a little more patient” she assured gently. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra looked to the bracelet with surprise, she’d never noticed it and looked questioningly once more to the ghost. “Does the bracelet mean something?” She asked. Astra was still adjusting to actually semi living with Anya so she didn’t know all the tricks yet. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Anya caught the ghost affectionately and pressed a kiss on iskra’s shell, shifting to hold her looking content once more, absently playing with her rounded shell. Iskra couldn’t see properly now she was trapped a little awkwardly but she could still reply. “Oh yes, it’s a piece that can be warm as a bracelet or necklace but it’s so Anya can ask for help. When the beads ring, they put out a signal that ghosts can pick up easily. Depending on what’s wrong, we ghosts can help or we get Marie for her” she explained, “it might help if your ghost learns the sound too, it’s good to know if she gets into something you don’t want her to get into” she warned with a chuckle. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra nodded, mentally taking notes, it would be very bad if Anya got into some of the things hiding at her bunker, she knew that much. She didn’t get a chance to respond as they were interrupted but a tray being set down in front of them. Astra flinched slightly as Marie started cleaning up and setting out dinner. “Nice game?” She asked playfully. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra blushed, she’d not even started one in her questioning. “We uh, well no” she admitted awkwardly, “we didn’t play, sorry” she mumbled shyly. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> “We got busy talking” Iskra added, “Anya was fine though” she assured. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie settled beside Anya, gently patting her shoulder in greeting before getting comfortable. “Oh that’s ok” she mused, “it happens more often than you might think” Marie chuckled before facing Anya. “Ok, My sweet Anya, do you want to eat a little bit for me?” She asked gently, lifting a hand to stroke her cheek affectionately. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya looked to her vaguely, lighting up slightly on feeling her favourite warlock and she didn’t hesitate to lean in for cuddles lovingly. She seemed to completely ignore the question though and Marie sighed, rolling her eyes with amusement. “Sit up, you can’t eat if you aren’t sitting straight” she lectured playfully, helping Anya sit up. The titan pouted slightly as the little rejection but did as she was told with some reluctance. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Oh don’t you start” Marie teased, poking her cheek, “you have had cuddles all day and I’ll give you more after dinner. You are a big sook” she mused, “now look to me ma ourse”. The titan gave a brief coy smile before as she was told again, letting Marie lead her. The warlock then wrapped a cloth around her, much like she would a blanket but it seemed to act as a bib almost. “Now this might be messy, you have to chew a little this time too” Marie warned as she picked up a bowl of ramen noodles. It wasn’t the traditional type as marire had cut the noodles into short strands barely as long as her fingers. With a sigh, the warlock then picked up some chopsticks to pick up some noodles, one at a time. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra couldn’t help but be distracted by the display as Marie was well practiced in mothering the titan. Anya seemed to have trouble chewing and swallowing despite the soft noodles so it was easy to understand why Marie had cut them down to size. It was most certainly childish but the risk of choking seemed very real as it took a long time for Anya to eat even those small pieces. Despite the discomfort of eating and swallowing, the titan clearly enjoyed her dinner which was chased down with some warm broth. She ate a little more than last time but it wasn’t by much. About half way through, Anya seemed to want to get fidgety so Marie had to poke her hands gently and tell her to leave her hands in her lap. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra quickly realised her food was getting cold so she quietly focused on her own meal and waited until Marie was done with Anya before speaking up. “Do you do that every time?” She asked curiously. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie looked up from freeing Anya from her ‘bib’ which was now quite messy. “No, I could just give her a bottle, but she prefers meals like this” she admitted, turning to clean the titan’s face. She finished by moving the left over ramen safely out of Anya’s reach. “Right, now it’s my turn to eat so you can put your hand here” Marie mused, setting the titan’s hand on her thigh. “I’ll let you cuddle after ok?” She promised. Anya seemed content with this and nodded, allowing the warlock to finally get to her own dinner. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra gave a soft smile, “you have trained her well” she observed. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie smiled and nodded, finishing her mouthful. “Of course, I can’t have her doing what she wants, I’d never get anything done” she assured playfully. “So, you mentioned wanting to speak with me?” She questioned before looking apologetic, “I’m sorry for the wait”. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra blushed a little and nodded, “oh, I can wait. It’s not urgent” she assured. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie shrugged and eyed Anya, “I have nothing else to do until bedtime, so go ahead” she smiled, turning back to Astra as she continued eating. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra nodded a little shyly but cleared her throat, getting her thoughts in order. “Well, uh. First. Do you mind if we get an escort?” She asked carefully. “It’s just my hunter, thao? Have you met?” She questioned. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie looked thoughtful before giving an uncertain nod. “Well, technically, yes. But not properly” she admitted, “frankly, I don’t think the ghosts have forgiven him or his ghost yet” she added with a coy smile. “The whole stalking thing really got to them” she mused. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra blushed awkwardly, she was technically at fault for that. “Uh. Right. Well. Cendrick, he uh. He ordered thao to escort us” she admitted. “And uh, about that. I’m sorry” she mumbled with guilt. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie waved her off with a smile, “it’s fine, I’ve been half expecting it over the years. At least he isn’t working for the vanguard” she admitted. “By the sounds of it, he didn’t have a good time so I’ll take that as payment” she teased, giving a playful wink. “I have no problem with him” she said finally, “that is as long as he has no problem with Anya and of course listening to me if she gets upset” she added. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt” she assured. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra returned a coy smile, before nodding. “Well, to be honest, he doesn’t. Uh. Well. He doesn’t know what Anya is... exactly. Thao, he doesn’t really...”. The warlock sighed looking awkward. “He doesn’t like anything hive” she admitted awkwardly, “it’s a long story, and he won’t hurt Anya but. I thought you should know”. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie looked thoughtful, “that’s fair, thank you for telling me” she mused, “I’ll make sure my bear is on her best behaviour” she assured before blushing a little as Anya shifted her hand in the wrong direction, she chose not to bring attention to this since Astra couldn’t see it. “So, we have an escort. What is next?” She questioned. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra looked uncertain but moved on to the next topic, going through the list in her head. “Ok, so, once thao is gone. Uh. It should be just us and I was wondering what you wanted to test first?” She asked curiously as she finished her dinner. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie nodded and smiled. “Well, we can start with that vision test that you’ve wanted to do for a while” she mused, “as you know, Anya is completely blind in the city so you can finally see her when she isn’t blind and hurt”. She then looked thoughtful, “I’d like to play with a new idea, it’s not too far away from the ink we are working on but I’ve dyed some cloth and string with said ink. I want to see if Anya will be able to see it” she admitted. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Oh?” Astra replied curiously, shifting her plate to lean an arm on the table. “What will you do if it does?” She asked. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Well” Marie sighed, “I was considering, trying to make some new toys for Anya” she admitted with a slight blush. “Maybe if I make some soft things she can play with, maybe embroider it so she can see it? If it works, maybe she can use it as paint or something too?” She added thoughtfully. “I don’t know if she can still read and write but I’d like to find out if we can find a way to write with something she can see”. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra nodded with excitement. “Oh, that’s a great idea. If it works, maybe she can tell us some more about what she knows?” She offered. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie nodded in agreement, “exactly, I wouldn’t mind trying to get her help in translating some hive runes that the vanguard has me chasing down” she replied with a sigh. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra perked up with interest, “they let you have some hive runes?” She asked. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie nodded with a sigh, “yes, I admittedly didn’t really want them but they asked me to take a look at them since they have a new symbol on them” she muttered. “I can’t find a reference to them anywhere so I’m stuck with a rune lock that I have no idea what to do with” she complained lightly. “Usually the locks disintegrate too so the fact they managed to save one is, interesting” she added. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra leaned on the table with her head in her hands, “can I have a look?” She asked curiously, “please?”. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie chuckled and nodded, “as long as it’s safe, sure, but I might have Anya have a look first” she admitted uncertainly. She didn’t want to endanger the titan but she had no other ideas for figuring out what the rune meant. The vanguard feared that it might refer to some new sect of hive and in turn, a new leader to knock out. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra gave an excited nod and eyed Anya thoughtfully. “Have you ever asked her if she can read or speak hive?” She asked, “do you think she could?”. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie finished her dinner with a content sigh and sipped her tea. “Well it stands to reason that she can, but I haven’t confirmed it because she is blind to everything but light” she replied, “but I know for a fact she can speak and use hive magic, her favourite trick is wizard teleportation after all” she admitted. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “Oh, do you think she could show us how it works? Not to mention, it makes me wonder what else she knows, so facinating” astra mumbled to herself, getting off track in her excitement. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie looked to her warily. “Keep in mind, using her abilities wears Anya down quickly, not to mention I’ve seen her almost drain a guardian completely of his light. It’s incredibly dangerous to play with her powers too much” she warned, “not to mention it upsets her” she added as she turned the titan and pulled out a container of what was labeled as body cream and some bandages. She gently brought a hand to Anya cheek with a sigh, “ok ma ourse. I’m going to fix your foot ok” she soothed, “can you shift to sit on the lounge for me?”. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Anya looked up at the attention and after a moment to ponder the request, she nodded and clumsily helped herself onto the lounge with guidance from the warlock. “Good girl, now is there anywhere else you can’t move?” Marie asked, positioning herself where she could easily access the titan’s foot. Anya shook her head vaguely which wasn’t a huge surprise since most of the time she didn’t notice half of what her own body was doing, Marie decided to check anyway. She started with Anya’s foot and started by taking a large amount of crystal infused cream. It immediately started glowing slightly just on Marie’s touch but she didn’t hesitate to focus her light, making it glow stronger, a light golden in colour. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie gently took the titan’s stiff foot and started to massage and lather her foot, shifting to her ankle slowly and up. Astra blushed at Marie last comment, looking embarrass for a moment before looking distracted by Marie’s work. “What’s that?” </span>  <span class="s2"> She asked curiously. </span></p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie looked up to her, “it’s a form of her light bath, just in a cream essentially. I use it for times when I don’t need to inspect her whole body” she explained. Anya looked a little uncomfortable to begin with as Marie gently massaged her foot, but after her initial discomfort, she seemed to relax as the light treatment allowed her foot to move as it should. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra looked thoughtful, “that’s clever, how do you make it?” She asked, “if it’s already in a form like that, is there a chance we can build on for a more permanent solution?” She asked. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Marie looked thoughtful as she gently flexed Anya’s foot, looking a little like a therapist. “Well theres a possibility. I pretty much just chose a medical body cream and mixed crystal powder into it” she admitted. Anya let out a quiet sigh as she lounged back into the chair, letting down her guard a little. Her usual wide eyed gaze relaxed as she stared into space. Marie finished by wrapping a black bandage around her foot and ankle. “The only problem with this really is that it’s only got a short term affect and I fear that it could affect her in long run” Marie admitted, “I’m not sure if it’s good for her to absorb too much of this crystal and at least you can take her out of a bath”. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra looked uncertain, it was a good point. “I wonder if there’s a way to test it” she mused thoughtfully. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie wiped her hands clean before shifting to stand, leaning on the lounge briefly and Anya instantly looked alert again, reaching for her vaguely. Marie could help but lean in with an adoring smile, “you’re worried now I’m leaving huh?” She mused before leaning to place a kiss on the titan’s head, making Anya give a small smile. She went to leave though and Anya stubborn refused, wrapping her arms a little clumsily around Marie neck affectionately. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie sighed, shifting to sit beside her gently only making the problem worse as Anya shifted to hug her closer, nuzzling her cheek and neck. The warlock blushed slightly, lifting a hand to pet her head lightly, “ok, I know what you’re thinking, and no” she warned, putting a hand sternly on Anya’s shoulder with a blush. She then looked to Astra, “I hate to be so sudden, but I think it’s bedtime again” she sighed, eyeing Anya who looked conflicted. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra looked confused but nodded awkwardly, “did I do something?” She asked carefully. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie shook her head and cleared her throat, “no, but from previous experience, Anya is in an... unpleasant... mood” she replied awkwardly, “I might give her a shower and just put her to bed, she will need the rest for tommorow anyway” she muttered. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra eyed Anya with uncertainty, she didn’t look very different, maybe a bit clingy but she supposed that she didn’t know Anya like Marie did. “Sure, well. Uh. You know. I’m, thao. He shouldn’t be wanting to leave too early knowing him, so take your time” she replied, shifting to collect the plates and cups from dinner. “Let me know if I can help” she offered politely before quietly heading to the kitchen. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie gave a nod and turned her attention to Anya. The titan seemed almost fidgety on closer inspection, wanting to be practically on top of Marie and giving her affection. It was almost aggressive compared to her usual gentle nature. Astra got a hint about what might have been the problem when the two went for a shower and she quickly escaped to the spare room awkwardly when she felt a slight fluctuation of light and dark with the whispers of noises to go with. She chose to ignore it politely which led to an early night. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> As the morning came around, Marie was more than begrudgingly up early and Astra woke to the vague smell of pancakes and sugar. The living room was stacked with a few crates, some open and half packed. The kitchen was occupied by Anya who was dressed up in proud titan’s armour and Marie who still wore her pj’s. as Astra entered, Marie glanced up with a nod and absently pushed a plate of bite sized pancakes over towards her before she focused on a plate of her own. The easy lock honestly still looked tired, but it didn’t break her focus as she cut little pieces of pancake soaked in maple syrup and offered small bites to Anya. Like the previous night, Anya was wearing her ‘bib again, presumably so her armour didn’t get ruined or messy. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Astra settled at the table with a yawn, taking a moment to pull herself from sleep more before helping herself to some breakfast, pancakes, syrup and fruits. “Good morning” she mumbled sleepily. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Anya looked surprised at the voice, pausing until she was distracted by the next bite of pancake goodness. Marie nodded and glanced over as she waited for Anya to finish her mouthful. “Good morning to you” she agreed, “did you sleep ok?” She asked gently. On closer inspection, while Marie herself had clearly not gotten as much sleep as she’d like, Anya looked very well rested and quite content as she was spoiled like usual. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra nodded with a blush, honestly, Marie had forgotten to clean off the bed so she had awkwardly packed it all to the side and slept somewhat arkwardly. “Oh, uh, yeah” she replied, “you?” She mumbled, hoping to change the subject. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie nodded with a chuckle, “yes, or at least I did until I had to get up early” she complained lightly, “I am not really a morning person” she admitted with a yawn, turning back to offer Anya another syrup soaked piece. “I hope breakfast is ok? I like to make sure Anya is as prepared as possible for days out” she explained lightly. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra looked to the pancakes with uncertainty, they didn’t seem like the usual preparation meal, more like a luxury breakfast. She went to reply before being interrupted by a knock and everyone flinched with surprise. Marie looked in the direction of the door with a sigh and got up before sliding the plate towards Astra. “Wait until I get back Anya, or you will have to clean your own sticky armour” she warned. “I’ll have Astra snack your hands” sge added lightly before patting the titan’s head. Anya just gave her an innocent look and Marie rolled her eyes as she picked up a dressing gown to answer the door. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> The idea of having to discipline the titan frightened Astra slightly but she awkwardly watched the plate and Anya in case the ‘innocent’ titan got impatient. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> As Marie reached the door, she took a deep breath and brushed her messy hair out of the wait in a half hearted attempt to look reasonable. As she unlocked the door to check who knocked, she was greeted by a vaguely familiar hunter. It wasn’t their own hunter, veta, the mysterious and moody awoken but a very beat up looking exo who leaned on the wall beside the door. On gearing the door open, he looked up before straightening up a little unsteadily. “Ah, Astra’s warlock friend” he greeted with a weak chuckle. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie frowned in a very motherly manner, not angry but disappointed as thao had clearly spent the night drinking. She could smell it on his armour, and that was without the obvious signs of a hangover. “Good morning, thao?” She greeted somewhat stiffly, “come in” she offered, opening the door for him. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Thao didn’t pick up on the vibe, flashing a playful smile as he stepped past and Marie shut the door, quietly muttering to herself about babysitting thao potentially on top of Anya. “It’s been a while” he greeted, looking around curiously, “where’s Astra?”. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie gave a nod and motioned for him to follow, heading back to the kitchen. “Eating her breakfast, you can have some if you like” she offered, trying to be polite despite feeling like she hadn’t had enough sleep for this. On reaching the kitchen, Marie settled beside Anya once more and she was glad to see Anya hadn’t gotten to her break fast by herself. “Ok ma ourse, open your mouth” she greeted gently, she couldn’t help but cheer up on the sight of the patient and well behaving titan. It might not last but it was good for now. Anya smiled a little on hearing her warlock and did as she was told so she could finish her breakfast. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Thao looked happy at the suggestion, lighting up further at seeing what was on offer. He didn’t resist to reach over and pick up a pancake with a smile. “Oh you are great, you know that?” He greeted as she shifted to sit on the counter with a grateful sigh. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra looked a little surprised as if she forgot thao was turning up before frowning with embarrassment at her ‘friend’. She shifted to get up and retrieve a plate before putting it in Thao’s hands with a huff. “Use a plate” she muttered under her breath before getting a whiff of him. It shouldnt have been a surprise of course, but it certainly caused a moment of concern as she realised a potentially drunk thao and Anya might not get along. “Stay away from Anya” she grumbled with annoyance, trying not to make a scene with a blush. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Thao looked a little surprised at astra’s somewhat unusual strictness, Normally she left the rules for cendric. “What? Why, I haven’t even met her yet?” He questioned with confusion. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra eyed Marie and Anya with a huff before returning her gaze back to thao. “I mean it. Stay away from her. Do as Marie tells you too” she finished as she sat down at the table again. She was oddly protective of Anya it seemed. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Thao was clueless as to why he was suddenly in the wrong. Cendric generally just left him to his own devices unless he needed the hunter for something but Astra was rarely this ‘aggressive’ to him. She was soft unless there was something she felt particularly strongly about. This totan, Anya, she hadn’t even spent that much time with her so it wasn’t clear why she was so touchy all of a sudden. Despite the somewhat confusing situation, he got up to get some pancakes, using his plate this time to help himself to breakfast and of course fruit and syrup. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Because of the weird situation, he took a moment to observe, lingering on the mother like warlock and Anya. She was feeding the titan and it was certainly odd as Anya seemed to wear a cloth over her armour. He supposed the titan was fussy about her armour but he was confused about a few other things. The warlock treated Anya almost like a child as when she was finished, she cleaned the titan’s face and Anya herself seemed to be crying so much that her makeup seemed to be running. What the point of putting make up on if you were going to cry, the idea was beyond him. “So what’s she upset about?” Thao asked bluntly as he used his hands to eat his pancakes. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie looked up to him with an odd look, assuming he knew more than he clearly did. “She just does that” she replied awkwardly, turning to free Anya from her breakfast set up and checking her armour for any accidental mess. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Thao raised an eyebrow in reply. “Why the makeup then?” He questioned, “isn’t it pointless. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Both Astra and Marie glance at him but befire astra could get in a word, Marie frowned. “She likes it” she replied bluntly as she helped Anya up. “I’ll be down shortly” she spoke to Astra with a nod befire gently leading Anya through the kitchen, being careful of keeping her away from thao. She felt like she should protect her from him even if he potentially meant no harm, she didn’t know how Anya would respond to someone in that condition. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Once they were gone, thao looked confused before shrugging with a sigh. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed” he muttered to himself. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra finished her breakfast with an annoyed huff and got up to start cleaning up after breakfasts “thao, didn’t cendric tell you not to drink last night?” She grumbled as she did the dishes beside him. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him” he shrugged with a cheeky smile as he scarfed down the rest of the pancakes. “Not as good as cendric’s cooking but still not bad” he complemented with a nod. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra straightened up with annoyance. “Thao. You need to be careful around Anya, we told you that” she lectured, “yet you turn up here like this. Do you understand?” She asked with exasperation. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Thao set his plate in the sink looking miffed, “no, I don’t get it. No one is telling me anything” he replied sulkily. Cendric had forgotten to mention the importance of all the drama that caused all this mess. He didn’t want to talk when they got home and all he vaguely remembered was that Anya and her warlock friend were upset. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra bit her lip with a sigh, “look. Anya is sick, you have to be careful with her” she replied, uncertain if she should mention the hive part considering how he felt about the topic. “Just, do me a favour and stay away from her. Protect her but just stay away from her” she pressed, “I’ll tell you more when you are sober” she added as she turned to head back to the spare room. “Oh, and clean yourself up, the bathroom is there” she motioned with a huff before disappearing. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Despite the hostility, the rest of the mornings preparations were uneventful, thao decided just to hang out in the kitchen to stay out of the way, not really enjoying the mood of the two warlocks that he’d upset somehow. He tried not to think about it too much but he did tidy himself up at astra’s request begrudgingly. When they finally found themselves getting ready to go, Marie went through her crates one last time to make sure she had everything they needed for both study and comfortable camping. When she finally finished, she stood with a bit of a restless breath and looked to Astra and thao. “Ok, ready. All that’s left is to get Anya out of here” she sighed. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie much like Astra herself was dressed up in travelling robes and gently helped the titan to her feet before putting Anya’s helmet on but she was noticeably more stressed than anyone else as she took a moment to fuss over the titan’s armour. “Are you ready sparks?” Marie asked out loud, evidently getting a silent reply as she nodded and took the titan’s hands. “Ok, yes. Now tell you what Anya, you be good for me and I promise I have a surprise” she assured gently, “stay near me and hold my hand”. The titan gave a nod befor lifting the warlocks hand to her cheek, despite her helmet and Marie smiled. “I’ll be ok” she soothed with a deep breath, “I’m so proud of you” she murmured affectionately as her gear finished transmatting. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> It was odd watching Marie have a conversation with herself and she was clearly talking to the titan but Anya had yet to let out anything more than the occasional nod. It further made the Hunter question the situation but he had given up on trying to understand for the moment. “So what am I here for anyway?” He asked, looking to the warlocks. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Astra looked up from adjusting her hand wraps, “he wants you to make sure we get out of the city ok I think. To be honest, he was the one that thought to send you” she admitted a little awkwardly. </span> </p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie looked thoughtful, “well, I suppose I appreciate the gesture. I can’t help to wonder if there are other thoughts there but perhaps an extra person or two will be helpful to keep eyes off Anya” she admitted. </span> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> Thao raised an eyebrow, quietly thinking about how he could maybe have slept in since there didn’t seem to be much of a plan. “Uhuh, so you guys need a guard? I thought titan’s didn’t need a guard” he teased. </span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2"> Marie sighed and moved to the door, leading Anya slowly, “it’s complicated” she admitted, “ </span> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Friend in the Wild</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marie took a deep breath as the familiar butterflies settled in her chest. Anya was armoured up behind her as she held the door handle. even after almost four years of living in the tower with the broken titan, the warlock still couldn’t help but worry about being caught with Anya, leading to her early capture and potentially, her death. Regardless, she gathered her will and let the two guardians out of the house, securing the house behind them. It was a quiet walk as they wandered side by side down to the hangar, one of the most dangerous places to be. Today they were heading out for a few weeks, by far one of the longest trips out since Anya had been saved from the moon. They would meet their friend, Astra, a fellow warlock in her bunker, or one of.</p><p>She was one of the few people who didn’t judge Marie for her choices, even showing a little too much interest in Anya sometimes but she was sweet and wanted to help Marie make Anya’s life more comfortable. Beyond Anya though, it was nice for both warlocks to have a friend they could talk too. While Marie studied hive, often much deeper than the vanguard allowed, Astra’s curiosity wasn’t just limited to hive, though she studied just as deep. Her curiosity followed an unpredictable path as she chose to study what interested her at the time unless she was on a job. Her work often appeared more than illegal and rather sketchy, but she meant well mostly. Marie was much like her in some respects, only Marie was pushed by a desire to understand and help Anya exclusively which pushed her into dangerous depths in hive study. Warlock’s like Toland had given this branch of study a bad reputation so she had to be careful of just what the vanguard could see her doing.</p><p>As they reached the hangar, Marie slowed with uncertainty, normally she would just pull up her own ship which led to less questions but today, Iskra pushed to use Anya’s own ship, or the one she used to use anyway. The problem was that she hadn’t taken it from Amanda as the shipwright had admittedly taken a liking to the old beast. The ship itself was an older cargo type ship, labelled as the ‘Leonid MV’, Bulky in nature with large boosters handsomely lining the sides of the ship. The ship itself almost looked like a bird with short wings and tail plates that stood up on an angle. Anya had once adored the ship despite the very ‘titan’ nature of the ship. It had a certain charm and grace about it despite the bulk and it was certainly larger than the more modern, compact designs that Amanda put out these days. The fronts of the wings were tipped in red with the titan’s lion symbol set onto the roof proudly. Anya had liked to change up the colour every now and then but she like red for the accent’s and the rest could be a nice ‘bland' colour, whether it be black, grey, carbon patterned. She didn’t mind as long as the accent’s stood out.</p><p>Anya now, well if she even remembered the ship, it was a mystery. she probably had no care for the ship she still technically owned, or as least Iskra did. When they were found on the moon, the ship was pretty beat up, which said a lot because it was already pretty worn out before it became abandoned on the moon. The paint had faded, and the systems had slowly begun to fail over the years. Iskra had limped it back to the tower but it had only just got there. Amanda had fixed it up since then of course, but well, a ghost didn’t have much of a need for a ship, so she just hadn’t picked it up. That was about to change as Marie and Anya quietly approached the shipwright, Iskra appeared to greet Amanda as she looked up with a nod.</p><p>“Hey Amanda” Iskra greeted eagerly with a smile.<br/><br/>The shipwright took a second before she grinned to the familiar ghost, not too many wore neon lights on their shell like Iskra did soshe was somewhat memorable. “Ah, it’s my favourite lil spark” she teased in reply, “what can I do for ya?” she greeted, putting the tablet in her hand on her hip lazily.</p><p>Iskra spun her shell with excited anticipation, she was more than keen to see her guardian’s old ship. She wasn’t as hyped to begin with as it brought back bad memories but after thinking about it, she realised it would be nice for nostalgia. plus, who knows, Anya might even remember it. “I want to pick my ship up” she replied eagerly, “that is if I can still have it” she added with a little uncertainty.<br/><br/>Amanda looked a little surprise before nodding thoughtfully, “oh, ya know, not sure if I have it anymore, might have sold it” she admitted coyly before chuckling, “of course ya can have it” she mused with a smile. “what’s the occasion?” she asked curiously, looking to the guardians behind her.</p><p>“Camping” Iskra replied playfully, “Anya has everything we could ever need unless her cargo is gone” she added with more uncertainty. At the mention of camping, Marie looked mildly uncomfortable, she wasn’t as excited about the idea.</p><p>Amanda lifted her tablet back up as she considered the words and nodded, “damn straight, surprised me a lil considering Anya lived at the wall, never seemed ta need to go camping” she chuckled. After a moment she smiled, “yeah, I still got it all. I’ll have to get it all packed back into the ship though if you don’t mind the wait” she offered, “I had to take it all out to service the girl properly, but I didn’t put everything back since I repainted a few things” she admitted thoughtfully.</p><p>Iskra looked taken aback and wary, almost sounding defensive. “repainted, why?” she questioned carefully.</p><p>Amanda immediately picked up on the ghost’s tone and laughed, “hol’ up, I didn’t go painting it green or something nefarious” she assured playfully, “just redid the outside and the protective plating here and there. The hive gunk you bought back with you made a bit of a mess and honestly, the girl needed a pick me up”. She typed a few words into the tablet for a moment before looking back up to the ghost. “look, you don’t like it, I’ll change it back, but I can’t just look at a baby like that and leave er’ as she was” she smiled, “oh, fixed the back door too, it won’t jam up on ya anymore. Anya had got some rust in the pistons and the air brakes were acting up” she explained casually.</p><p>The ghost looked thoughtful before nodding, “I’ll hold you to that” Iskra assured before smiling gently. “thank you though, I appreciate the help” she offered, “I can put the glimmer in your account, just name what you need” she added.</p><p>Amanda waved her hand with a shrug, “I don’t need anything, you’ve already paid your fee” she assured before looking solemn, “think of it as returning what’s left of a friend” she added gently. “just uh, you know if it’s easier, you can leave your bird with me when you’re finished, I’ll make sure she’s maintained for you if you like” Amanda offered, “I imagine ship maintenance is a bit harder as a lil old lone ghost” she teased lightly.</p><p>The ghost was quiet for a moment as she process the shipwright’s kindness, “but. You would? Why?” she asked awkwardly.</p><p>The shipwright shifted to lean on her other foot with a sigh and put a hand on the back of her neck, “well, old birds like that. You don’t see em often, but” she paused to blush slightly. “You know, I’ve been here a while, but your guardian was one of the first few guardians I really got to know when I got here” she admitted. “that and Zavala of course. when I got put up at the tower with ma mom, I used to see er’ every mornin on er way off to build the wall, mom got to know er cause she’d do a bunch of heavy liftin’ for us and when I started workin, she came to me. I don’t know if she ever remembered me” she admitted, “but she was memorable, you know?” she sighed. <br/><br/>Iskra looked thoughtful before smiling, “she liked you, thought you were as bright as any guardian” she admitted with a chuckle, “she admired your ability to understand all the things you can do, ships and engines were always far too complicated for her liking so she dropped the talent as soon as she was able” she assured, “despised having to fix a sparrow or something so if I couldn’t fix it, often she just used to walk instead” she laughed before sighing. “you can look after Anya’s ship if you like, I’d like that” she nodded.</p><p>Amanda smiled with a laugh, “sounds very titan of er” she teased lightly before nodding and giving a playful thumbs up. “I’ll keep your bird in tip top shape” she assured as her tablet beeped, “speaking of, she’s ready for take-off, head over to bay three” she mused, “fly safe, be brave as you say” Amanda added.</p><p>Marie gave a polite nod, hanging back to give Amanda and the ghost a chance to catch up but on being given direction, she gently led Anya past in the direction of the goal. Iskra went to follow before looking to Amanda, “can I get a hug? She asked carefully, “for Anya and I?”. Amanda looked surmised and uncertain, as if she wasn’t sure how a ghost could ‘hug’, but she nodded and Iskra smiled, floating over to her neck and nuzzling into the bandanna that was settled there.</p><p>“I thought this was uncomfortable for you guys” Amanda mused as she carefully patted the ghost with a chuckle, it tickled a little.</p><p>Iskra pulled away and rolled her eye coyly, “well, most ghosts like their space, yes” she admitted, “but I’ve been cuddling Anya since she was born” she shrugged, “I cuddle anyone I like. I’m a little weird like that” she smiled. “Anya, she used to just let me sit in the cuff of her armour if she didn’t need to wear her helmet. I think I picked it up from her though, she liked hugs” she explained. “anyway, thank you. We appreciate you” she finished happily as she moved to follow her guardians.</p><p>Amanda nodded with a smile, “same, and if that’s the case, come get a hug anytime” she replied lightly, “I don’t mind a weird ghost” she teased as she turned to continue her work. Iskra gave a nod and darted off happily. The ghost much like her guardian had a wonderful charisma so it wasn’t unusual for the people she knew to enjoy her presence. She was a sweet and friendly ghost that had the will of a titan but could fit in with civilians and guardians alike.</p><p>As Marie approached the third ship bay, she immediately felt dwarfed by the large ship that both Amanda and Iskra seemed to hold dear. She couldn’t help but feel a tang of sad nostalgia as she remembered how the ship had sat on the surface of the moon, semi buried in dust with faded colours. It was much bigger than her own ship and almost looked hawkish, yet it was still a personal ship, that much was clear. There was only one real difference from what it looked like on the moon though and that was how clean it was. The ship looked brand new with a pristine paint job of a titan’s red with a dull black carbon colour covering the rest of the outside. As Iskra caught up, she was stopped in her tracks briefly before she circled the ship with excited awe. The ghost wasn’t sure what she was expecting but this was beyond it and she could barely sit still as she let herself into the ship.</p><p>The systems were refreshed, working much quicker than Iskra remembered, not to mention the data settings were left mostly how Anya left them. It meant the primary language was still Russian which was exciting and on checking the cargo list, everything was in its place and tied up securely. The repaint had continued to the inside of the ship too as most places were covered with new carbon paint of silver and black, even the worn floors had been given a good polish with no sign of the trauma the moon had left. The cockpit was particularly fantastic as the seats had been relined with new leather and embroidered with the titan symbol in vibrant red. Iskra had to remind herself to put down the ramp in her excitement which as promised, the ramp lowered flawlessly, something it hadn’t done while Anya was herself.</p><p>Marie made sure to help Anya up the ramp carefully before allowing herself the luxury to look around and she looked amazed. “this was her ship?” she asked with awe.<br/><br/>Iskra nodded proudly and lifted the ramp before leading into the cockpit. The cargo bay they entered through though was well and truly big enough to camp in comfortably. if anything, it was the cockpit that felt a little cramped, fitting only three seats comfortably. “well it never looked this good, it was owned by someone else before Anya got it, but yes, she loved it” she assured. <br/><br/>Marie helped Anya into the co-pilot seat and clipped up in gently, having to adjust the brand new belts to fit. The titan looked around blindly, certainly curious about the mood but she probably didn’t understand what the big deal was, she did as she was told though, sitting patiently as the warlock moved to transmat her own gear into the ship. “it suits her” Marie replied with a smile, “I forget sometimes how proud she was” she added thoughtfully, even with her bedroom being what it is” she mused.</p><p>It took Marie a few minutes to shift and tie up her additional crates that she added to the cargo bay and Iskra piped up to help her place them properly, so the ship remained balanced. She clearly was not as smooth as Anya was once but that could be fixed with the little ghost’s guidance. Despite sitting in the pilot seat, Marie allowed the ghost to fly since she couldn’t read the words that flashed across the screen. Once they were flying though, everyone could relax now that they were safely out of the tower’s range.</p><p>The flight was uneventful like usual, it took a few minutes for Anya’s ‘sight’ to return as they left the blinding light of the traveller. Marie could tell because the titan’s gaze stayed squarely on the warlock once the light was gone, staying there for the rest of the flight. Iskra in particular seemed to really enjoy the flight, the updated systems made it a lot easier to control the ship so she could offer a more comfortable flight than usual.</p><p>It took an hour or so to get to their destination and they landed as close as they could manage without landing right beside the hidden bunker. The ‘bunker’ was the remains of an old building that has been partially crushed by a cabal drop pod and the EDZ had started to reclaim the ruins as the building was becoming a little overgrown. If Iskra parked there, the bunker wouldn’t be so ‘secret’ so they managed to find a place about ten minutes away that would be perfect to camp in. There was a bit of a river there that Marie could use for drinking water and washing as well as plenty of cover that meant they could easily put up camouflage and blend in with their surroundings. They decided not to set up right away though just in case they had to camp somewhere else, and Marie carefully made the trek back to the bunker on foot to give Anya some time to enjoy the fresh air.</p><p>As they approached the ruins, they were greeted by Astra who stood outside waiting, rocking on her feet with visible excitement. It was the first time since their temporary arrest that Anya and Marie had been back to the warlocks study bunker. As they stepped out of the trees, Astra practically skipped over with a big smile, “I will never not be amazed, half my specimens seem to react to Anya” she enthused.</p><p>Anya immediately stopped looking defensive, not recognising Astra’s light pattern away from the tower. to her, the excited blur of light approached quickly so she didn’t know if it was an attack. She immediately pulled Marie into a tight hug and let out a low growl making Astra stop on her tracks with pale and surprised fear.</p><p>“Ught, it’s a friend” Marie squeaked with surprise, she sometimes forgot how quick Anya was to defend her. “Astra, from the tower” she promised, lifting a hand to hold Anya’s supportively.</p><p>“I’m sorry” Astra spoke quietly looking guilty, “uh, should I go?” She mumbled awkwardly, not wanting to push Anya any further.</p><p> The titan stared silently to Astra, clearly not believing Marie right away but she seemed to relax slightly and release her warlock a little. “Good girl, come with me, I’ll show you, Astra is good” she promised soothingly as she gently pulled herself free from the titan’s arms. Marie then looked to Astra and waved her over gently, “slow, hands up, she just doesn’t recognise what you look like, that’s all” she assured gently.</p><p>Astra looked uncertain but put her hands up further, so it was clear she meant no harm, she’d thought that Anya was blind, though maybe she forgot some details. “Uh huh, yeah, ok” she replied awkwardly as she stepped forward slowly.</p><p>As she reached Marie, the titan looked more than wary but stood still, defensive but trusting in her warlocks words. Marie gently took one of Astra’s hands and put it carefully in Anya’s. “See, you know this light, it’s Astra” she soothed, “our friend from home”.</p><p>The titan took Astra’s hand carefully before she relaxed completely as she recognised her friends light, looking a little guilty as she realised. She stepped forward carefully to give Astra a hug, petting her shoulder affectionately before seemingly taking in what Astra looked like. The warlock was awkward but let out a relieved breath and hugged back briefly before Anya returned back to Marie’s side happily.</p><p>“Noted. No running” Astra mumbled shyly, “I’m sorry, I was under the impression she couldn’t see me, I must have forgotten” she admitted with embarrassment.</p><p>Marie shook her head with a gentle smile, “no, I forgot she wasn’t used to seeing you” she admitted, “she doesn’t get to see very often and last time we met here, I don’t think she had the proper capability to remember what you look like”.</p><p>Astra blushed lightly, recalling the very awkward day they met. “Right, well. Uhm, I’m sure it will be fine now… uh. Anyway” she continued, clearing her throat. “Did you fly?” She asked curiously.</p><p>Marie nodded before motioning to the trees she just left, “sparks landed about ten minutes away, we will camp there unless you want us to camp elsewhere” she replied.</p><p>With the ‘danger’ gone, Anya vaguely looked around curiously, standing beside her warlock protectively for a minute or so. The focus didn’t last long since she felt safe though and she soon spaced out, tuning into the noise of the area. She’d picked up various whispers and voices that she knew didn’t belong in her mind but had tuned them out as she focused on followed Marie, so she didn’t trip. She found herself listening to a familiar whisper, feeling a sense of discomfort surrounding it.</p><p>“It’s back. Death comes.”</p><p>Anya felt herself mildly interested in the voice, but she was pulled back to the warlocks as Marie squeezed her hand, noticing Anya was absent. “Come ma ourse, we need to get a few things from the ship” Marie mused gently. Anya looked a little confused but agreed anyway before glancing at Astra, looking curious. “Astra is going to come for a walk with us, it won’t be long” Marie added as she gently begun to lead Anya the way they came.</p><p>Astra gently took the titan’s other hand to help, her light was still a little shy but she like Marie felt happy and excited. “After we set up camp, then maybe we can play some, uh. You call them games?” She asked, looking to Marie.</p><p>Marie nodded in reply, “it’s the easiest way” she replied with a playful wink.</p><p>There was a spark of excitement as Astra smiled, “wonderful, I can’t wait. You know I’ve never studied like this, usually things aren’t so willing” she admitted innocently, looking thoughtful before frowning. “Mind you, I’m not allowed to keep a lot of things” she admitted a little bitterly.</p><p>Marie smiled, equally excited in her own way to show off her titan. It was easy to space out again when the warlocks got along so well, their excitable chatter was calming to listen too until they both worried when Anya would almost trip on a hole, branch or root that she couldn’t see. Luckily, the whispers went away as they moved away from the bunker, so it was much easier to keep her attention.</p><p>Once they reached the titan’s ship again, they were faced with a mild problem. While Astra was ‘used to’ camping, usually she had a few luxuries to go with and she wasn’t all that great with actually setting up a proper camp. It was a similar problem for Marie who had never enjoyed being overly outdoorsy, so they were left with a titan who was capable of boredom, two somewhat clumsy warlocks who weren’t great at camping and a ghost who had to somehow rein in the chaos. They couldn’t really leave Anya outside by herself in case she wandered off, but she would be in the way if she was in the ship.</p><p>They finally decided on settling Anya in the cockpit and belting her in so that she couldn’t wander, much like you would a toddler but they hoped that Esperer and quirk could keep Anya busy. It worked for a bit but unfortunately, Anya was a little more intelligent than a toddler so after about half an hour, Anya was getting a bit irritable at being stuck where she was. She could hear the warlocks chatter, the chatter of the ghosts that were babysitting her and she could see them in front of her chatting. None of them were paying her any attention though so the titan blindly felt the chair to help herself up, only to find herself stuck. It took a moment to follow the belts to the clip, but Anya felt a little smug that she had beat the warlocks briefly.</p><p>Anya then helped herself up so she could investigate where she was much to her guards collective dismay. “Uh, hey, Anya, come back here please, Marie said to stay here” Esperer warned gently, a little bit of panic in her digital voice. The titan shook her head stubbornly, she was bored and was going to do something about it. Her hands curiously followed the new leather seats, there was no light there, but she liked the texture for a moment. It was when she found the controls that Esperer flew down to nudge her hands away, clearly feeling stressed.</p><p>“How about, we don’t do that” Esperer spoke, almost begging. She tried to casually push Anya’s hands away and successfully drew the titan’s gaze but after a moment, she was captured between the titan’s hands with a nervous squeak. She wasn’t nearly as touchy as Iskra and while she was ok with Marie, she wasn’t nearly as comfortable Anya. “Uh, yes. Let’s play” she stuttered awkwardly, realising this might be the only way to keep Anya from helping herself from the controls.</p><p>The ghost’s feelings were clear as day to Anya so while she lifted the ghost curiously for a moment, she looked a little uncomfortable and let the ghost go with a vague shake of her head. Returning her curiosity to the control panel that didn’t feel anything at all. Esperer looked taken aback as she straightened herself up, she’d done what Iskra usually did, why didn’t it work for her. As the titan’s hands felt the panel curiously, she pressed buttons which caused various beeps and sounds to start and the ghosts who were now collectively freaking out quickly entered the ship to halt whatever Anya was doing.</p><p>They found the problem immediately, neither of them fluently understood Russian and while they could stop the major actions like take off and engine start up from their activity patterns, they desperately tried to figure out what else Anya was accidentally doing. Anya was innocently unaware of what she was doing of course but she found the pilots chair and sat down before continuing to let her curiosity fly. There was something familiar about all of this, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. It was when she found the thrust that she paused, looking almost nostalgic. She could feel a certain amount of energy from the console, no burn or anything but that changed as the two ghosts finally found the deactivation part of the ship.</p><p>There was a problem, only the owner of the ship knew the reactivation code so if by some bad luck, Iskra didn’t remember it, they were stuck here until they could get someone to break the ship free. They had to make a decision quickly though as Anya’s hands kept wandering, finding the weapons panel. It felt like an awful idea but on the off chance that she could figure out how to activate the weapons, the ghosts reluctantly activated the security system, and the ship went completely dark instantly with only flashing red lights lighting up the area.</p><p>Unfortunately, that left the warlocks also in the dark suddenly and while they stopped their work before they got hurt, they instantly looked to the cockpit door with horror. It was closed and needed power to open. The information Channels that the ghosts could use to get in and out of the ships were closed meaning that not only could Iskra not get to the cockpit to help, both Esperer and quirk were now stuck in the console too. There had been a warning but they didn’t understand the Russian so they didn’t know they would become trapped until the owner of the ship returned.</p><p>Marie was quick to move over to the door with fear, “Anya? Ghosts?” She called out with fear. Anya hearing the voice, looked vaguely in the direction but she couldn’t see through walls, so the room was black, like usual, she didn’t respond either, looking confused. Iskra went to let herself in but she realised that with the security up, the anti transmat zone was up. She couldn’t get in through data or transmat, Anya was stuck there.</p><p>Marie started to look panicked, “Esperer, get us in there” she urged, banging on the door. “Anya?” She called, “can you say something if you are ok?”.</p><p>Iskra looked flustered and looked between the two, “I can’t. The anti-stealth system is on. Only Anya or I can unlock it and I have to be in the cockpit to do so, unless a better hacker than me breaks in, there’s no way” she replied weakly.</p><p>Astra paled as she realised her ghost too was stuck in the cockpit on top of the growing pile of concerns, “what?!” She squeaked.</p><p>“The console needs a security code. Only I or Anya’s voice patterns can unlock it” Iskra rushed, looking at the door helplessly.</p><p>“What’s the code?!” Marie asked with fear.</p><p>Iskra looked awkward, “unlock- “she begun, for a moment there was a flicker of hope in the warlocks, it was a simple word, but the ghost continued. “-in Russian. Her Russian….” She muttered.</p><p>Astra looked confused as Marie pressed her head against the door in defeat. “Is that bad? Doesn’t she know that?” She asked weakly.</p><p>Iskra shrunk a little, “modern Russian is different to hers… unlock is ‘razblokirovat’. Modern Russian uses open, which is different".</p><p>Marie looked to Astra, “it means we need her to remember. Otherwise we need to call for assistance from the tower” she muttered.</p><p>The different words only served to further confuse Astra, but she saw the problem and sunk to the ground with shock. “But. What. Is there anything we can do?” She asked.</p><p>“Nothing if Anya won’t answer us” Marie muttered, sinking to the floor beside Astra. Both their ghosts were trapped so they couldn’t call for help and Iskra could only hope that boa was in the system currently.</p><p>“Why in the traveller light does Anya have such strong security” Marie asked in defeat, looking to Iskra who was trying her best to get into the system.</p><p>Iskra looked up with a sigh, “do you know how old this ship is? It’s from the start of the city, the dark ages. You had to protect everything this well or some warlord or random risen would steal from you. Anya chose this security since personal ships were still rare and she paid good glimmer to buy it in the first place” she grumbled.</p><p>Astra looked slightly surprised, she knew very few people other than Cendric who were that old, but it prompted her curiosity. “Did she ever use the security?” She asked.</p><p>Iskra nodded as she focused on the keypad again, “yeah, she caught a few hunters… even a titan this one time. She killed each one but that was because of the times…” she muttered. “She never saw them again, got a name for herself because of it” she admitted. This information seemed to make the warlocks go quiet and they could do nothing so they decided to try waiting for a bit, hoping that maybe Anya would miraculously get herself out.</p><p>Almost an hour passed as Anya curiously inspected the cockpit since she had nothing better to do and it was then that Iskra tried to get Veta’s help, leaving the two warlocks to watch the ship. There wasn’t a peep from the two ghosts frozen in the system, so Anya’s careful investigation was unobserved. At one point, the warlock’s could hear the quiet sounds of exploratory scuffles and they were able to get Anya’s attention briefly, receiving a lone knock but she moved on again. Anya ended up at the console again beginning to look unsettled as she started to fall into some distress, so she tried pressing the console randomly with distressed annoyance.</p><p>She must have accidentally found the right button because the awkward stressed silence was broken by the sound of a confident Russian woman sounding amused. She spoke Russian though so only Anya could understand what was said. “Hey clown, looks like you’re in for some fun” Anya’s voice mocked lazily, “tell you what, tell me the safe word and I’ll let you go”. You could almost hear the coy wink in her teasing and her voice echoed throughout the ship. It was likely the first time either warlock had heard Anya’s true voice, so they flinched in surprise before Marie looked a little awed.</p><p>Anya however looked around with confusion, she couldn’t see who was speaking so after a moment she returned to her annoyance, continuing to press buttons. She couldn’t see the screen lighting up in front of her, it showed and eerie reflection of herself in old armour Pre-city armour. Her mark was made of layered fur with a worn belt that looked as if it had been through hell. Her armour matched but it was basic, more leather and fur than anything other than plates to protect her chest, wrists and legs. She had simple shoulder plates and all the plates looked almost hand moulded. She was frozen in an amused smile, as if daring whoever she was taunting to continue.</p><p>It was a few minutes of annoyed frustration before the feed unfroze and the old Anya straightened up with a shrug, “tell you what, I’ll even give you a hint” she teased, still speaking old Russian, not a word was understood by anyone other than Anya who looked around with confusion. “How do you open a lock?” Old Anya asked playfully.</p><p>The broken titan finally set her hands on her lap sulking since nothing seemed to be working. After a minute or two, the feed seemed to loop, further mocking whoever had been caught in the trap. The answer was easy of course but through the titan’s clouded mind, she had trouble connecting the dots until the feed had repeated itself a few times and she snapped with annoyance. “unlock lock” she growled, slamming a fist into the console with a hiss, “Quiet, loud”.</p><p>The feed started to roll again, and old Anya nodded with some surprise, “there we go, steal away my friend, unless it’s me” she teased, winking playfully, “don’t forget to clean the armour you beautiful beast you, gotta keep that Snow White” she added, the feed finishing and pausing on the end of the roll. The ship powered up after a moment and everything returned back to normal, allowing both the ghosts to get free and Marie could finally let herself into the cockpit with relief, approaching Anya carefully.</p><p>“Ma Ourse, you ok?” She asked carefully as she put a hand on the titan’s shoulder. Anya flinched at the touch but seeing that someone was there this time, she eagerly cuddled up to Marie with a whine that sat in the middle of upset and angry. Marie let out a deep breath of relief before looking at the screen with confusion. “What is that?” She muttered to herself.</p><p>Hearing the ship, Iskra wasted no time to appear with an equal amount of relief, nuzzling up to Anya proudly. “Oh my light I love you, my dumb smart titan” she whimpered weakly. Both ghosts retreated quickly to their owners, quietly refusing to baby sit ever again.</p><p>Astra poked her head in carefully, “so uh. Maybe we should not leave her in the cockpit” she suggested awkwardly.</p><p>Marie nodded with agreement, “agreed” she grumbled.</p><p>Since things seemed to be ok, Astra eyed the screen curiously, “so uh, that was what Anya sounded like?” She asked, “is that what she looked like?”.</p><p>Iskra looked up with a chuckle, “yeah, uh, here, check this out” she muttered as she safely entered the console, rewinding the footage to let it roll again, safely this time. Watching old Anya speak was strange, she acted nothing like the broken titan between the two warlocks and she looked different. It was easy to tell they were the same person though; they gave off the same chaotic but happy nature. Marie found herself blushing, she couldn’t help but find the titan in the feed cute and it only made her appreciate Anya more.</p><p>“So, she never did take much seriously did she?” Marie asked weakly.</p><p>Iskra appeared to shake her head, “nope, in fact, here’s the last few sentences translated” she added, bringing up the words on the screen.</p><p>‘How do you open a lock? - there we go, steal away my friend, unless it’s me” she teased, winking playfully, “don’t forget to clean the armour you beautiful beast you, gotta keep that Snow White’</p><p>The two warlocks both sighed at the translation, it was about as obnoxious titan you could get, particularly the part that fed her own ego. “Well I wasn’t sure what I was expecting” Marie admitted, “but I’ll take this as a cue to leave, remind me to adjust her security later” she muttered as she turned to Anya, helping her up. “Ok, there’s going to be no more mischief from you today” she assured sternly as she led Anya outside.</p><p>Despite being a little annoyed by getting herself trapped in the cockpit, the titan clearly had no idea what had happened, so she wasn’t upset really. She was usually ok if she was allowed to be curious, though Marie usually made sure there was nothing dangerous around her to get hurt by, or break. Before Anya’s ‘help’, Marie had managed to set most things up luckily, all that was left was the large camouflage tarp to cover the ship. Marie looked to Anya with a tired sigh as she looked to the tarp on the ground. The warlock couldn’t do both jobs at the same time and Astra walked over looking unsure.</p><p>“So, uh, what should we do?” She asked awkwardly, eyeing the ship. Normally Cendric did this sort of stuff if they were forced to camp.</p><p>Anya stood watching the two innocently, curiously looking to try and see if she could see what they were trying to do. She couldn’t but she had nothing else to do. Marie put a hand on her hip, Esperer had already put in a strongly worded letter about just how upset she was so she wasn’t about to ask her ghost again. “Uh. Well” she begun uncertainly, “I can do everything else, I just can’t do the camo” she muttered. “It needs to be done now but we need to distract Anya better” Marie added with mild disdain.</p><p>Astra bit her lip as she eyed the titan, meeting Anya’s vague gaze. “How do you normally do it?” She asked.</p><p>Marie chuckled with a sigh, “uh. I let her wander because the house is closed off, I guess I’m paying for that” she muttered. “If not that, cuddles and conversation, sometimes crucible” she added with defeat, “so I don’t think any of that will work here”.</p><p>Astra looked thoughtful; they might be able to work with crucible. “Sleep?” She offered.</p><p>“Needs cuddles to sleep” Marie replied awkwardly, “fears being alone for too long and that’s worse when she’s blind”. The warlock bit her lip before looking uncomfortable, “if I could uh, trap her, somewhere. Then she would be ok for a short time- “she cleared her throat, “but I hate having to do that” she added.</p><p>Astra put her hands on her hips as she considered the problem, Anya was already looking fidgety, looking for something to do. “A game or toy?” She offered weakly.</p><p>Marie looked uncomfortable at the thought, the only ‘toys’ she had were dominoes which would likely be lost knowing her luck. The only other thing that Anya would be vaguely interested in was crystals and that was only because they could glow so she could find them. After a moment, the warlock nodded. “I don’t know if it will work, but I have an idea. I’ve never done this before so hopefully it doesn’t go bad” she muttered, half to herself, half to Astra. She turned to Anya before clapping to get Anya’s attention sternly. “Stay here Anya, not a step away from Astra” she warned.</p><p>Anya looked at her warily, sensing the warlocks force in her light but she nodded innocently, moving to pull Astra carefully into a cuddle abruptly. Astra gave a surprised squeak and blushed. Marie bit her lip, that wasn’t her intention, but it worked. “Stay, I’ll be right back” she warned before looking to Astra apologetically, wording an apology. Astra awkwardly waved her off, wording a reply back before Marie rushed off into the ship.</p><p>Anya watched Marie go carefully, adjusting her hold slightly to better cuddle Astra in a protective manner. There was no real intent other than doing as she was told and affection of course but the warlock who was littler than Marie felt small and awkward as she was trapped in the titan’s hold. It felt like a long few minutes before Marie returned with a large drawstring bag on her back and she set it on the ground with a huff before looking at Anya with a sigh. “You can let Astra go now” she reminded gently, “I said stay with her, not claim her” she teased lightly before waving her over, “come here ma Ourse” she requested as she pulled out a crystal that fit nicely into the palm of her hand.</p><p>Anya gave a small smile, shifting to pet Astra’s head affectionately before she carefully sat down beside Marie expectantly. She could already see a faint glow in her hand but as Marie charged the crystal, her attention was drawn to the crystal completely as she heard a clear sound start ringing. The warlocks were none the wiser and Astra blushed deeply with relief at being released, she was distracted by the bag though as she realised it might have been full of crystals.</p><p>“No way? Is that just crystal?” She asked with excitement. Cendric would never let her keep that much, if any at all if he could help it.</p><p>Marie nodded with a chuckle, “I need it for miss trouble’s treatment” she replied before curiously moving her hand to see if Anya would follow the crystal. Much like a cat, she did, and the warlock smiled. “Traveller help me, it’s a good thing you can’t see these normally I suppose” she mused before offering it to Anya, “What do you think?” She asked curiously.</p><p>Anya took the crystal with curiosity, recognising what it was but it was different to what she thought it should be. The first thing she did was bring it to her ear with confused the two equally curious warlocks. “Do you hear something?” Astra asked.</p><p>Anya gave a nod before shifting the crystal and holding it between her hands, with the light held inside the crystal, it was warm and comforting to touch but there were so many things that Anya could do with such a thing, not many of those things being good. She found herself spacing out as she let her thoughts wander but she was snapped back to reality. “Hey, Anya, how about, we play a game. You try and find me more of these while I finish camp ok?” Marie offered carefully. after a moment of thought, Anya replied with a nod, moving to get up clumsily.</p><p>Marie looked relieved and with that, Esperer carefully appeared to start dropping charged crystals around the clearing for Anya to find. The two warlocks took a minute to watch the titan look around curiously, she seemed to watch the ghost fly around for a moment but then she seemed to listen before bringing the crystal she held to her ear. She was still as she considered something, but it was unclear what her plan was until she carefully started moving in a random direction. They waited for her to find a rather large crystal that Esperer had placed, and she picked it up and listened to it too. Since Anya was seemingly entertained with no chance of a ghost getting captured again, Marie pushed to finished the camp as quickly as they could while Anya was busy.</p><p>When they were done, the camo tarp activated, making the ship practically invisible from the sky which almost completely hid their temporary camp. They decided to not push their luck though and moved to find Anya who’d taken shelter under the wing of the ship with a rather large pile of glowing crystals. She had started scratching into one of the crystals as she murmured, using her gloved hands and fingernails to dig into the crystal roughly. She hadn’t been doing it too long, but she’d already worn down through her gloves to her fingers that now bled. Despite the pain she was obviously causing herself, Anya seemed to be in a trance almost and brought the crystal to her mouth, licking it roughly as they approached. In her hands, the crystal instantly darkened, the light turning a blood red colour before pulsing ominously.</p><p>The warlocks paused at this, looking both curious and wary of what she was doing but Anya moved the now bloodied crystal to her ear once more, nodding as if she was satisfied. Marie put a careful hand in front of Astra as she moved forward. “Just wait until I talk to her ok” she whispered carefully before stepping closer Carefully. “Anya my sweet? What are you doing?” She asked gently. Anya flinched at the interruption, dropping the crystal clumsily and she looked wary for a moment until she seemingly recognised Marie. She was now a mess, but like usual, didn’t notice.</p><p>“Hey you, what are you doing” Marie asked again gently, kneeling down beside her. Anya looked around to pick up the tainted crystal, offering it innocently. The warlock took the crystal with uncertainty and cleared her throat, “uh, what’s this my sweet?” She asked carefully.</p><p>Anya pointed to the crystal before seemingly deciding it was easier to speak. “Annihilator totem” she replied with a hoarse voice.</p><p>Marie instantly flinched with fear, she’d only heard about these things and they were said to be destructive and deadly. “Why did you make one?” She asked weakly, carefully taking the crystal out of Anya’s reach, treating it as if it would explode at any second.</p><p>“I can” she replied with a shrug, moving to pick up another crystal to absently start scratching again.</p><p>Marie shivered and cleared her throat,” uh, how about, I put these away for now, ok?” She asked carefully.</p><p>Anya looked almost disappointed but nodded with a mild pout, offering the new bloodied crystal. Anya was quick to take the rest of them out of the titan’s reach, leaving the annihilation totem in her hand despite her fear that it would explode. “What do you do with this… uh. Totem?” Marie asked awkwardly.</p><p>Anya stood up clumsily before reaching out to take the crystal with much less care than Marie held it and she brought it to her mouth, breathing a whisper. The red light started pulsing faster and she drew back her hand before throwing it in front of her, away from the warlocks luckily. As it landed, it shattered in the grass with an explosion of angry red energy that seemed to eat away at everything in the radius of where it handed. It left the ground looking sickly and tainted but clearly it was meant as a grenade or stand in perhaps.</p><p>The two warlocks paled, both noting that Anya was no longer allowed to play with whole crystals. “Right” Marie squeaked before clearing her throat. “Uh, good girl, but uh, no more of that” she mumbled awkwardly, “let’s go this way” she suggested, looking to Astra and offering the bag. “You can look after these” she added.</p><p>Astra nodded quickly, taking the bag, she was certainly curious but her fear of Anya making more of these things beat it out. “Great idea” she agreed, “I think I’ll put them in my study” she added.</p><p>“Study sounds like a great idea” Marie agreed as she took Anya’s hand. “In the meantime, I might uh. Clean her hands” she sighed before looking to the titan in defeat. “You hurt yourself? Why? “she questioned weakly.</p><p>Anya looked confused, obviously not realising she’d hurt herself, despite the new pain. She was bleeding from her mouth now too in addition to her tears and fingers. She pointed to her tongue though that was cut after a moment before looking thoughtful. “Blood. Important” she admitted before absently scratching at her ear.</p><p>Marie frowned, “so you were using hive magic?” She lectured gently. With another nod from the titan, Marie looked stern, “why, it’s not good for you, makes you sick. We talked about this, no magic unless you are in danger” she warned.</p><p>Anya shrunk a little, looking away awkwardly like she was a child in trouble. After a moment though she looked back to Marie, “forgot. Sorry” she mumbled, her voice sounding pained and harsh as more blood trickled from her lips.</p><p>Despite her mild annoyance, Marie did fear pushing Anya too hard, and it was hard to be angry at the titan when she clearly didn’t mean any harm. The warlock shook her head as she looked at Astra, “I can clean her up at the bunker, unless you don’t want me too” she offered.</p><p>Astra nodded looking unsure, “is she ok?” She asked with concern as she set the bag on her back heavily.</p><p>Marie nodded, “this is nothing, believe it or not. This is just what happens if she talks too much” she admitted, turning her attention back to Anya, “ok, come with me” she ordered lightly, beginning to lead Anya back towards the bunker and leaving the ghosts to lock up the ship.</p><p>Astra frowned thoughtfully at the information as she stepped into pace beside Marie. “Why? What’s the problem?” She asked curiously.</p><p>Anya was looking a little tired after her mischief as she followed, but she was obedient as she trailed after Marie silently, a little clumsy as her co-ordination started to falter. “She has a build-up of hard chitin like materials in her throat, likely from various cracks and healings over the years. talking causes movement which opens wounds and then she bleeds” Marie explained, “it’s why her diet is so particular, mostly liquid because swallowing can be hard but if it is solid, it has to be something easy to chew and swallow, soft foods are fine as long as she takes little bites and chews properly”. Despite the somewhat gross topic, Marie was seemingly unphased by it, almost bored as it was clearly something she looked after every day.</p><p>Astra was a mix of disturbed and awed, she always seemed to learn something new about Anya and she adored it. “Wonderful” she mused to herself before blushing, “I mean, uh. Not. I meant- “she stuttered.</p><p>Marie waved her off with a chuckle, “I understand, it’s fine” she assured. “Things like that were the first things I studied once she started her recovery” she continued thoughtfully, “I wondered why she didn’t talk much even as she got better. She’d shown that she was capable of it in a basic sense but never really jumped at the opportunity to talk unless there was something specific that she wanted understood. "It’s a mix of a cloudy mind and physical restrictions” Marie asserted.</p><p>Astra looked curious, “isn’t there some way to help her? You can return her to an awoken state, surely you’ve thought of something” she suggested.</p><p>Marie nodded as she turned to look at Anya, leading her gently over a rather large root. “Well, it’s simple” she admitted awkwardly, “she’d bleed out if I fixed it, imagine I shot you in the throat, but it didn’t bleed because I froze your body. When I unfroze it, providing you were alive, you would just continue to bleed out” she explained. “At the current rate, she may naturally bleed a little bit it’s in a frozen State. returning her body competely to working order would be the death of her” Marie looked depressed at the thought, “it’s ironic but, to heal her, it would kill her”. The warlock looked to Astra with a sad sigh, “I mentioned it, when we first met, but I meant it. The only way to fix her is a bullet in her heart and or head” she admitted, “she’s tough, I don’t know if you’d need both, but regardless, my point remains the same. I am merely making the rest of her life comfortable”.</p><p>Astra swallowed hard, it was a hard thought to consider now that she understood just what Anya was, and in turn, the reality of her existence. “So the throat is out of bounds then” she nodded, “uh, then why do you risk, well baths. Isn’t bringing her back to an awoken state a risk?” She questioned.</p><p>Marie nodded, “always, particularly if she has a large wound, light should only be used to stitch up a wound, or if she is physically well. A bath only goes skin deep luckily, so her internal organs are left as is. Scratches and cuts are fine too as long as they aren’t too deep.</p><p>Astra mentally took notes as they finally approached the bunker and she leaned down to let them into the bunker. An old building that was partially crushed but a cabal drop pod. Her bunker was settled into the storm cellar and with a bit of effort, she led the way inside.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Two Minds and a worm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marie and Anya had only been in this place once before and it was a memorable sight. The centre of the room was taken up by a medical bed which seemed to double as a study bench as well. It was here where Astra worked on her physical research it seemed, but the rest of the room was surrounded by walls of cupboards, benches and shelving of various different things. It was almost impossible to tell exactly what most things were as there containers of various types holding items and subjects of various colours and types. One of the largest areas was a large tank that was obviously filthy. </p><p>The glass was marked with black smudges both inside and out, it held what might have been a fish display, but it was morbid, instead displaying a number of hive briefs that had started to grow over the sides of the tank. Up close, you could almost see a large hole burrowed into the pulsing coral like filth. This tank wasn’t alone though as the tanks and containers around it didn’t look very pleasant either. The room had a musty smell from being locked up and the contents of the room. A normal guardian, hunters and titan’s in particular would greatly dislike this place but for a warlock, it was quite wonderful if you were interested in the contents. </p><p>Astra herself couldn’t help but light up on returning to her personal pride and immediately started busying herself around the room, clearing off the bed so Marie could see it Anya. “Make yourself comfortable, sorry for the mess” she blushed lightly, “I got carried away and forgot to tidy up” she admitted with embarrassment. </p><p>Anya instantly looked mildly unsettled as she was helped inside, the room whispered to her and she looked around warily before hanging a little closer to Marie. “Oh it’s ok” she replied lightly as she helped Anya onto the bed, looking her up and down. The titan was still in pretty good condition despite the mess of her hands and face, the rest of her was untouched so she settled with pulling Anya’s gloves off to check the damage. “It’s been so long, I’m glad I’m here by choice this time” Marie admitted as she wiped away black blood.</p><p>Astra looked awkward at the memory, “huh, yeah… I didn’t mean… for that” she replied quietly. </p><p>Marie nodded, “I know” she reminded with amusement, “it’s not your fault”. She was clearly listening, but her focus was the titan in front of her. As she cleaned the wounds, it became clear what Anya had done, she’d begun scratching but as the crystal rubbed through the two layers of gloves, one of which being designed for a sun breaker, so it was quite a feat. She cut deep gashes into her fingers that led to large tears of flesh in places and a fingernail had almost come off. Marie felt a little sick as she realised and took a moment to take a deep breath. “Wow… you didn’t hold back did you” she muttered with a little disbelief. </p><p>Astra paused, holding a large container shyly, “well, you know, considering. I uh, I’m glad it worked out” she admitted, “to be able to study something so unique and special…”. Astra sighed with content adoration towards Anya, spacing out a little before shaking herself back to reality and finishing her task. She managed to clean up a little but for a moment, she didn’t realise Marie had stopped listening. She looked back to see the warlock focusing deeply. “Is Anya ok?” She asked carefully, walking over curiously. </p><p>Anya looked to her absently but didn’t seem to mind the approach while Marie nodded absently as she seemed to be working carefully on the titan’s fingers with tweezers and carefully wrapped bandages. When she finally got close enough to see some of the damage, Astra realised why Marie might not have been paying attention. “Is that what she did?” She asked weakly.</p><p>Marie nodded, finishing the titan’s middle finger, having to put it back together before wrapping it up properly. “This is the worst she’s done... normally she just scratches herself which is nothing” she murmured. </p><p>Astra looked to the titan with confusion, Anya was showing vague pain which was expected but she just didn’t seem bothered which wasn’t very human of her at all. “Does she care?” Astra asked, “I mean. Why would she do that to herself?” She questioned. “Surely she felt the pain. To keep going like that?” She sighed thoughtfully. It was well known that the hive ruled on power and death but surely pain like this was not necessary, even a hindrance.</p><p>Marie looked to Anya with a sigh, “I’ll have to study it later, sir hurts herself most often when she’s scared” she muttered before straightening up, “for example, voices, she hears these dark voices, and she doesn’t like listening to them. If she does, they torture her mind so she will sit there and endlessly scratch and cry, even pulling out her hair. I came home to a blood bath a once because she’d scratched all over her body and around her ears, just to try and silence the voices” she explained. “This, this isn’t chaotic, it’s controlled. She chose to do this” Marie muttered, looking to Anya with conflicted curiosity, “I need to know why, not to mention, she used her mouth too, her tongue was torn up. It’s obvious she was using some form of spell or power but what triggered it”.</p><p>Astra looked to the warlock with a moment of awe, Marie’s understanding of Anya was sometimes hidden behind her open adoration for the titan so when she dropped random but extraordinarily clear observations, it was easy to forget the true reason she started all this. “How did you figure that out? How do you even start?” She asked.</p><p>Marie gave a small smile, “I asked, the voices was easy” she admitted before turning her attention back to Anya’s hand. “Ma Ourse, haw are your voices today, is the good voice talking today?” She asked gently. </p><p>In response, Anya looked as if she’d been pulled from a thought and Marie had to repeat the question but after a moment, she put a spare hand on her ear consideringly, shaking her head. “Good voice?” Astra asked curiously.</p><p>“Mmhm, I’ve considered it, I think it might be what’s left of pre-hive Anya, a conscious perhaps” Marie admitted, “Anya, what does your nice voice say?” She asked.</p><p>Anya looked as though she concentrated hard before starting to speak roughly, “protect light” she murmured, blood escaping her lips. </p><p>Astra moved over a little closer, her ghost appearing to take notes. “Oh, what light do you need to protect?” She asked curiously. </p><p>Anya looked to Astra consideringly before tilting her head. “Heart and sun. People, all” she replied absently. “Protect first” she sighed.</p><p>Astra looked unsure as she pondered the meaning, she understood the titan part of protect all people, but the sun and heart was confusing. “Sun, the traveller? Or is the heart the traveller” she questioned.</p><p>Marie instantly blushed and bit her lip, “no, sun refers to me, sparks is her heart” she explained a little shyly. “She rarely talks about the traveller at all, I’m not sure if she recognises it properly anymore” Marie admitted as she finished the next finger, causing more brief pain.</p><p>Astra was surprised and gave a soft smile, “oh, well that, that’s sweet” she murmured a little awkwardly. </p><p>Marie nodded, “you wouldn’t believe it, but she’s quite the, uh. Princess charming, sometimes” she assured, “usually when you’re not expecting it”. Luckily, Anya’s pinkie wasn’t so bad, so it didn’t take as long and Marie moved to Anya’s mouth, gently inspecting some small cracks on her lips and in the corners of her mouth as well as the general health of the inside. Marie looked much like a dentist almost, using a small paddle to help look inside. Due to her condition, her teeth clearly weren’t the greatest anymore, but Marie seemed satisfied after a moment. “Well, she made a mess, it won’t heal for a while but it’s not life threatening. She just won’t be getting any kisses for a while” she shrugged lightly, freeing Anya who pulled back with a mild frown, as if she didn’t completely like that attention. </p><p>Astra chuckled awkwardly, there was certainly a part of her that was curious, but she didn’t entirely want to ask, “so what now?” She asked.</p><p>Marie cleaned her hands thoughtfully, “I’ll give her hands a light treatment so they can start to heal naturally, I can’t really burn treat her hands if I expect her to be able to use them properly” she admitted. “After that... well we start studying if you like” she offered.</p><p>Astra nodded and motioned to the door flap leading to the bathroom. “Well I can run the bath, maybe you can show me how you use these crystals” she offered.</p><p>Marie nodded in agreement, “sounds good, just give me..” she paused to go through her medical kit, pulling out Anya’s bath salt and offering it, “there, I’ll follow you in shortly” she promised as she begun to help Anya out of her armour. Astra didn’t hesitate to wander into the bathroom, starting the bath.</p><p>It took Marie a few minutes to undress Anya since she was becoming distracted, but once she was settled in her bath comfortably with all the usual checks, Marie set up a little table on the floor where she could work. She had perfected the art of working while Anya was busy for the most part because she no longer hand to physically keep her hand under the water to keep the light focused. Instead, she dropped a metal cube into the water, it was made of sol metal, melted down into a cube so once it was active, it worked like a solar battery and continued to feed light into the water in Marie’s stead. The warlock still had to work nearby though just in case. </p><p>Since Anya could see Marie pretty comfortably, the titan was content to just lay quietly in the bath while listening to the two warlocks conversation echo lightly around the room. </p><p>At first, Astra was confused with the warlocks set up on the floor but after a brief explanation, she understood but she continued her own work on the bathroom counter. “Ok, so uh, basic idea, put light into the crystals and they glow. Right? How do you get more use out of them?” Astra begun curiously. </p><p>Marie picked up a smaller crystal in her hands, “well, you can’t really do too much more with it” she admitted, “I use it like a battery for the most part, the most strange use is providing an even spread of light for wounds and such” she admitted. </p><p>Astra rolled her own crystal between her hands curiously, “so then, how do you make this do that” she asked, motioning to the bath. “Surely there’s a trick” she suggested, something so simple sounded, well, too simple. </p><p>Marie smiled and set her crystal into a mortar, “easy, think of it like salt, you grind it up into smaller pieces. The grind is up to you and what you need but for me, I just powder it, put it into whatever I want” she admitted as she started to crush the crystal with a mortar. </p><p>Astra eyed the crystal thoughtfully; purple light was starting to bleed into the crystal where her hands touched them. “That doesn’t destroy its nature?” She asked curiously. </p><p>Marie paused thoughtfully, “well yes, but no” she admitted. “In a whole form, the crystals do hold light better, so you don’t really need to add light indefinitely, you can charge a while crystal. You can’t if it’s powdered and while you can still feed it light, you have to feed it continuously because it can no longer hold the light by itself” she explained. “Not entirely sure why it works that way” she added curiously. </p><p>“That’s why you had to sit with Anya the last time right?” Astra questioned as she begun to understand some of Marie’s actions. </p><p>“I still do sometimes, but yes” Marie agreed with a chuckle as she continued to work on grinding down her crystal. It was pretty easy to break down, it made sense if you could simply shoot them, and they shattered on the field.</p><p>Astra thoughtfully began to break down her own crystal as she considered the different uses she could find with the same technique. After a moment or two, she looked back to Marie curiously, “so what is your next plan, with Anya. Or are you just looking after her now?” She asked, eyeing the titan in the bath thoughtfully. Anya was already turning a pale grey white in colour where the water touched her. </p><p>“I’d like to find a more permanent solution to making it easier for her body to heal itself” Marie admitted, “and light is the only way to do that... but I need a safe way” she sighed. </p><p>Astra bit her lip thoughtfully, “too much light is bad?”.</p><p>Marie nodded, pausing her work to cross her arms. “Theoretically, I’d love to find a way to have the effects of a bath, but permanently. Obviously that’s impractical but I just- “she sighed with defeat, “I just don’t know what I could do, I’d need to attach crystal to her and feed it. If I don’t, it will just prompt her to create more dark energy” she explained. </p><p>Astra turned to lean on the counter before starting to pace, “does the crystal harm her? As in can she digest it or put it under her skin?” She questioned. </p><p>Marie blushed slightly, “well there’s been times that she’s accidentally swallowed it and it hasn’t made her sick and I have used crystal in her wounds to help promote healing before” she admitted. “I try not too though; I can’t prove it hurt or doesn’t hurt her” she added. </p><p>Their conversation was broken as Esperer and Iskra pushed through the fallen cloak acting as a door. “Sorry for taking so long, I was readjusting the security of the ship” Iskra greeted with a sigh. </p><p>The warlocks flinched slightly, having forgotten the ghosts were not with them. “Oh, wonderful” Marie greeted apologetically, “should I have stayed?” She questioned awkwardly.</p><p>Iskra floated over to nudge Anya’s cheek affectionately, dodging her hands so she didn’t get wet, “cuddles later Anya, promise” she soothed before looking questioning at the bandages that covered her hands. “Did Anya get hurt?” She questioned, settling safely on the counter after setting down a red silk cushion. Anya seemed a little miffed that she wasn’t allowed cuddles, but she calmed without a fuss once more, continuing to watch absently as she enjoyed her bath. Her gaze settled into a heavy, tired interest as she relaxed. </p><p>Astra looked awkward but Marie seemed to put up a hand and take the ghosts attention, “Anya decided it was fun to make a hive grenade out of a crystal, she cut her hands and tongue up badly so I’m hoping she can heal a little” she admitted. </p><p>Iskra eyed Anya warily before sighing, “of course she did... I’m not sure why I’m surprised” she muttered, “that explains a few things”. </p><p>“What are you guys working on?” Esperer asked curiously, settling beside her own guardian with interest. </p><p>Marie shifted to continue working on the crystal, turning a rough rock salt into a finer powder. “The same thing as usual, how to help scare off Anya’s mobility problems” she replied with a sigh.</p><p>“That and teaching me how I can use hive crystals” Astra added with a gentle smile, “your guardian is quite clever” she added. </p><p>Both Marie and Esperer looked shy, and the ghost chuckled, “well she may be but, she forgets she has real work to do sometimes” she sighed, Esperer was more of a motherly figure in comparison to some ghosts it seemed. </p><p>Marie blushed looking awkward, “way to call me out” she mused before shaking her head. “You don’t have any ideas do you?” She questioned, “I can’t have Anya in a bio suit for the rest of her life” she sighed.</p><p>Astra perked up at that, “bio suit?”. </p><p>Marie looked up with a nod, “with sparks help, we created a bio suit that may have the capability of reducing Anya’s immobile, but. Well she can’t live in that for the rest of her life” she admitted, “plus, it would be nice if it affected a little deeper, it would help with healing” she added. </p><p>Astra was quiet for a moment before suddenly jumping as an idea struck her, “tattoo... Marie, what if we found a way to tattoo her” she suggested looking excited and moving to her knees to sit in front of the warlock. “Think about, skin deep you said. A tattoo, lines could connect together, make a netting to direct light exactly where you want it” she enthused.</p><p>Marie looked taken aback by Astra’s sudden mood and looked confused. “Tattoo?” She questioned. </p><p>Esperer however looked stunned, “oh my traveller... a tattoo would be perfect. Marie, the drawings people have put on their body, those are tattoos!” She enthused, “you could make it deep enough to not hurt her but the amount of ink. It would be almost nothing in comparison to a bath. All over her body though. It could act like an invisible bio suit”.</p><p>It took a moment for Marie to catch up, she wasn’t the most sociable so for a moment she was confused as to what a tattoo even was. When the pin dropped though, she froze as she thought about it. “Of course” she mumbled before moving to look around, Esperer was a thought ahead of her as her book and pencil transmatted into her hands. Marie wasted no time to scribble the word onto a fresh page. </p><p>Iskra shifted to float down looking a little uncertain, “uh, hold up. A tattoo.. how in the hell do you think she will sit there and let you do that to her? What if she becomes aggressive?”. She looked hesitant then, “and uh. I.. well what if I don’t agree... it’s all well and good but what if it doesn’t work?” She questioned looking protective, “you’re just adding ugly scars”.</p><p>Astra shook her head, “I can’t speak for how but, think about it, you can make a tattoo look like anything and I’ve seen Marie’s studies” she enthused. “She can make it look beautiful; can you imagine?”</p><p>Marie blushed looking flustered, “oh, wait. But. Uh, I am not so su- “ </p><p>She was cut off by Esperer nodding in agreement, “Marie can doodle something beautiful without even trying, she can definitely make it look good” she assured. </p><p>“Maybe you can make it look titan-ish, you know. To show her off” quirk piped up excitedly, “a big titan shield or something. Oh the lion? There’s a bunch of things that Marie could do. If it helped, it would be amazing too!” She added. </p><p>Iskra looked uncertain but it seemed the idea of making the tattoo suit her might have helped convince her. “But how?, sometimes it’s hard to break her skin let alone tattoo it” she muttered, “I just don’t think it’s possible, even if you could make a nice design and how would the ink work? Tattoos get old and faded” she reminded, “if it works to begin with” Iskra argued uncertainly. </p><p>“I need to test if it works first” Marie agreed, “I think you can have tattoos re-done if necessary but that’s for later” she muttered thoughtfully. </p><p>“We’ll need ink and some way to tattoo her of course but you already know how to use the crystal right? It’s just making the right thing, surely?” She questioned excitedly, “in fact, let’s work on it today” she pushed eagerly.</p><p>Marie nodded slowly, it was certainly a noble idea but the more she thought about it, the more problems she was beginning to see. “If the ink doesn’t work, than we can’t go anywhere... we will start there” she agreed, “How do you make ink...” she trailed off. </p><p>Astra got up excitedly, with a goal in mind, she was more than eager to help and busied herself with starting to set up a proper experiment station. Iskra wasn’t totally convinced and eyed her guardian protectively, she couldn’t help but feel a little hopeful that perhaps it might work. </p><p>Between quirk and Esperer, together they were able to search the tower archives and it was easy to find almost endless information on tattoos and their history. There was information from the golden age through guardians who had them when they were redirected, meaning and modern practices among art styles and clan marks. With the wealth of information, there was a gold mine of information to study. </p><p>Warlocks were a distractable bunch so as the bath got cold, Anya was mildly forgotten in the excitement of ideas in the air. Her day while not the most exciting, left her tired and spacey as she listened to the sounds around her, and she found herself listening to the quiet whispers that came from the bunker. Astra’s more hive centric research seemed to put out echoes of past experimentation that for the most part was harmless however there was one being that was different, to begin with, the voice had somewhat lazily acknowledged Anya’s arrival, but that knowledge had declined to mild panic for a while before turning into curiosity. </p><p>Since Anya was bored, she found herself listening and much like the last time she was here, the mysterious hive worm that Astra had adopted through uncertain means begun to show an interest. Anya had seemingly been there long enough that it had decided the titan was useful it seemed. </p><p>“Come. You are captured too...” the whispers suggested soothingly. “We can escape. Together”. </p><p>Anya vaguely focused on the direction of the voice, her boredom turning to curiosity since there was nothing else going on. Today she certainly had the strength to fight the suggestion, but she was allowing the communication for now. “Safe. Not prisoner” Anya replied in her mind, “sound familiar” she sighed. The voice certainly sounded as if she’d met before, but she didn’t remember properly. </p><p>“No, belong on moon” the whispers argued, “light is for eating” it urged. “Kill, free us”. </p><p>Anya was quiet for a moment as she considered the words, finally turning away with a bored huff, the voice was wrong. “Protect... don’t want to kill” she mumbled tiredly, “too much blood”.</p><p>A strong sense of irritation almost overwhelmed Anya briefly as the voice replied. “Have tainted you. Let me feed.... I’ll free you” it suggested, almost seductively as a push of dark pressed against her. </p><p>Anya looked a little miffed, scratching at her chest absently as the familiar pins and needles shivered through her. Normally this only happened when she called on the dark and the fact the dark dared try to control her made her annoyed in her stronger, more healthy condition. “Stop. Don’t want pain” she warned, a low growl accompanying her returning whispers. “Will tear you to pieces” she threatened, a heavy threat landing heavily on the hidden worm.</p><p>The whispers seemed to quiet with a sense of fear and not that anyone could see it, the worm wriggled uncomfortably, deeper into the den of filth in which it lived. “I could give you power, everything you could want.... just let me feeed.... hungry.... want home. Before mother comes back. Mother tainted with light” it replied, a sense of desperation now hidden among the words. </p><p>Anya calmed slightly at the success of her threat, sighing. “Mother?” She questioned with reluctant interest. “Would hear screams of mother” she grumbled. It was a sound that still echoed in her mind, the screech of wizards and their songs of torture and cruelty. They were the mothers, the beings that bred the cancer that was the hive. Sometimes she still felt the deep claws and pain of a memory, the light leaving her, abandoning her. </p><p>The worm must have picked up on an emotion it could use, “betrayed... someone... something... it left you. I won’t leave you... feeeed me” it whispered, daring to push a heavy promise. </p><p>Anya almost instantly looked back to the voice, responding in a defensive anger, speaking out loud this time with a growl in hive, though it sounded guttural growls and tones to the warlocks who were scared by the sudden enraged outcry of hatred. “You did this to me” she accused, lifting to claw herself out of the bath. </p><p>Marie looked frightened and stunned, dropping everything to settle beside Anya warily. “Hey, my sweet, what’s wrong” she soothed, and edge of fear in her voice as she very carefully put a hand on the titan’s shoulder. </p><p>Anya reacted instantly, giving the warlock an aggressive growl and scratching out at her, for a moment she was unable to tell the difference between the voice and her light. Marie fell back with a fright but for a moment, Anya was overwhelmed with fear that made her thoughts stagger and she was confused, eyeing Marie warily. </p><p>“They will hurt you” the voice pushed eagerly, sensing a crack, “Trust me”. </p><p>“What’s going on?” Astra asked with a frightened squeak, she had never seen Anya this aggressive toward Marie. </p><p>“I don’t know, just stay back” Marie replied with a frighted stutter. After a deep breath, she moved back to Anya warily. “Hey, ma Ourse, my sweet. It’s just me, your sun” she soothed, gently offering a hand. </p><p>The titan continued to eye Marie warily before eyeing her extended hand and she reluctantly leaned back before more gently accepting the warlocks hands, she could sense the heavy fear as Marie took her hands but this time she recognised the warmth of her light. It was only then that she realised that she’d lashed out at Marie and instantly pulled back with heavy guilt, tearing up. “No, I’m sorry” she murmured, “please... don’t hurt, I won’t.” Her words were hard to understand as her common was still mixed with hive traces, but her intent was clear as she curled away from the warlock looking distraught. </p><p>Marie let out a relieved breath as her sweetheart returned and she cleared her throat, “I’m going to take her back to camp. I can’t risk her hurting anyone” she muttered weakly, looking to Astra apologetically. “You can keep studying, but I won’t let her hurt you” she assured, beginning to empty the bath. </p><p>Astra looked to Anya with concern. “What about you?” She asked with uncertainty, looking back to her study. </p><p>Marie focused on cleaning the tainted water away from Anya’s pale body, ensuring she was clean other than her wet and stained bandages on her hands. “I’ll be fine, she won’t hurt me” she assured with determination.</p><p>“They control you...” the whispers mocked. </p><p>Anya turned to the voice tearfully. “Choose, I choose...” she then turned to find Marie, clutching her hands, “I choose home. Safe” she murmured, leaning into to find comfort in the warlocks chest. “Help... bad voice” she finally whispered desperately. </p><p>Marie paused to pull the wet and messy titan into a tight hug, kissing her head. ‘Shhh, the dark won’t get you while I’m here” she murmured lovingly. “Let’s go home ok?” She promised gently. Astra could only watch with a mix of uncertain awe as the momentarily aggressive titan melted into the equivalent of a lost child. She still worried as Marie gently helped the titan clean and dry up, dressing her so they could leave. </p><p>Once Anya was all wrapped up in warm casual clothes, Marie set the titan onto her back with a heavy sigh. “Ok, well you know where we are, ask Esperer or sparks if you need something, she won’t be dangerous once she’s away from here I believe” she admitted, “something must be upsetting her”. </p><p>Astra looked a little guilty and nodded, “I’m sorry, I uh.. I’ll tell you if I find something out” she promised awkwardly, waving weakly, “maybe we can try and find out what’s wrong later” she added uncertainly. </p><p>Marie nodded and let herself out with a polite nod, “look after yourself” she reminded, “don’t work too hard”. </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>